Kaito
by hyoriu
Summary: The Fourth Shinobi World War has ended and the world is becoming peaceful once again. Just as things begin to settle down, a threat very close to home disturbs the peace. When this disturbance threatens the way everyone lives their life, what will Konoha do to save itself? A new generation of ninja in a new era! What major part in this will Kaito and his friends have in the matter?
1. The Beginning

**_The Beginning_**

**Arc One: Chapter One, That Snow-Haired Shinobi!**

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><p><em>"No, this is not the beginning of a new chapter in my life; this is the beginning of a new book! That first book is already closed, ended, and tossed into the seas; this new book is newly opened, has just begun! Look, it is the first page! And it is a beautiful one!" <em>

_― C. JoyBell C._

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><p>Kaito woke up just in time to duck as a flying book sailed over his head.<p>

"Stay awake!" One of the Academy instructors yelled.

A kid behind him who got hit by the book moaned as he rubbed his forehead, a book-shaped mark imprinted on his head.

"Sorry Shiba-sensei..." He mumbled, rubbing his eyes. And he really was sorry; he woke up late that morning, as usual, and had to rush to class. So, it was the thought that counted?

The tall woman with a streak of purple in her jet-black hair sighed. "Just don't do it again," She glared at him with her bright purple eyes, "Today is a very important day for all of you. Continue Abarame-chan."

The second, and main, instructor, Abarame-sensei, cleared his throat. It was hard to tell who he was looking at, some metal object placed over his eyes. His green zip-up jacket with a black zipper lay blurry through Kaito's tired eyes. "This day will determine-"

Kaito, no longer able to bear the oppressed weight of his eyelids, gently rested his head on the desk as the instructor continued talking.

Soon though, he was jerked awake by a fellow classmate.

Kaito mumbled swears under his breath and huffily turned his head to see-well, really yell at-the person who woke him up, and instantly stopped when he saw the familiar green short hair that he was beginning to grow used to. It was his childhood friend, Ren.

Ren had recently gotten his long green hair cut, so now his hair was shoulder-length, the side parting letting a large portion of his bangs cover the left side of his face. His black eyes held a weariness similar to Kaito's, he noticed, suggesting that Ren had gotten as much rest as he did. He wore mesh armor underneath a dark green t-shirt with silver metal lashes on the front and back of it in the shape of claw marks.

Kaito sighed and let his head fall back on his arms, wiping the slob from his face. "What now?"

"Listen..." Ren said, though he clearly didn't want to listen either, "He's about to tell us what we need to do to graduate."

"Hmm? Oh, sorry. This is important." Kaito's voice oozed with sarcasm.

"-the clone technique to pass." Aburame-sensei finished, then after a parting glance directly towards Kaito, both instructors went into the examination room.

. . .

Kaito was one of the last to enter. Shiba-sensei looked up as he entered the room. The room's floor was bare, polished wood, the only decoration was the desk that they sat at, a set of seven Leaf forehead protectors placed neatly on the desk. Sunlight shone through the window as Kaito sighed. In truth, he wasn't scared or nervous in the slightest. You could even say that he was excited!

'_This is the day,_' He thought, '_Time to show everyone that my last-minute training has finally paid off! The day to change our fate..._'

. . .

"Hmm. Commence, Kaito."

Kaito nodded, and made three consecutive hand seals: Ram, Snake, Tiger.

_Poof!_

Covered in smoke, four clones that were completely identical to Kaito appeared. They all had the same snow-white, mildly spiky hair, sky blue eyes, thin dark blue metal-plated arm warmers, a silver band wrapped around his right shoulder, and a navy blue shirt with a symbol of a water sphere on the left sleeve. They wore the same white pants, a ninja hip-pouch located at the back of them, a shuriken holster strapped to all of their legs, and blue ninja sandals. Yup, they looked exactly like Kaito.

"How'd I do?" Kaito asked, a grin plastered across his face.

Shiba sighed and tapped one of the forehead protectors.

"Go ahead," she sighed, "You've passed."

"Congratulations" Aburame-sensei nodded.

The clones disappeared as Kaito sighed and flopped to his butt.

The male instructed stared at Shiba for a long time until she noticed him. He nodded his head towards Kaito.

"Huh?" Kaito's eyebrow rose in confusion.

"Hm? Oh, yeah. Here." Shiba threw an object at him that he barely managed to catch. It was small, compact, and black. A wallet, he realized, and one full of a certainly generous amount of cash.

"What's this for?"

"No reason. We just had a bet to see if you would fail."

Kaito's heart sank. Did they really think that little of him?

"Tsk," Shiba glared at him, "Don't you dare make that face!"

Aburame-sensei, who's face usually lay emotionless, smirked for a brief moment. "We both had a bet that you'd pass. And since you did, we both agreed to give you money to celebrate, along with a new wallet."

Kaito brightened instantly.

"Hmph," Shiba swung her head away from the snow-haired boy. "Enjoy it. This is the last gift you'll get from me. Brat."

"Hehe," Kaito grinned, "I'll be sure to bring you some change!"

Kaito grabbed his hitai-ate and wrapped it around his forehead, a glare cast on the metal where the Leaf's symbol was located.

"Finally," he said under his breath, "I'm finally a ninja."

Kaito dashed out of the room just in time to hear "Don't promise what you're not going to keep, _idiot_!"

He smirked as he made his way out of the academy. He saw the crowd of parents and students, but he decided that he didn't want to look for Ren and his parents. He continued onto the streets of Konoha, and soon everything became a blur of excitement, joy, and the usual complaint of a person he had ran into. He followed the mental map that lay as written in his head as stone to the one place that he never felt a stranger to: Ichiraku Ramen, the original.

. . .

"Old man!" He yelled as he entered the shop, skidding to a stop. As Teuchi turned around, his eyes grew in surprise when he saw the forehead protector on Kaito's forehead. He tapped Ayame on her shoulder.

"Hmm?" She turned around and gasped in surprise.

"You did it!" She exclaimed.

"Yup!" He tapped the headband proudly. "Piece of cake!"

"Oh, I'm so proud of you!" She held out her arms and Kaito didn't hesitate to lean over the counter to hug the beautiful young woman. Denying one of her hugs was not only disrespectful to all men competing for Ayame's eyes, but a disrespect to the world. "How about a free bowl of ramen, on me?"

"I'll gladly take you up on that offer!" Kaito said, taking his seat at the counter as Teuchi grabbed a bowl. "Spicy Delite?" He asked, though Kaito was sure the old man knew his answer.

"Of course!" Not five minutes later did the first bowl appear in front of him. "Thank you very much!" Kaito smiled gratefully.

He picked up the chopsticks, and, after separating exclaimed again, "Thank you very much!" before digging into the ramen. They both smiled at the boy. They, unlike other customers, had grown used to the way Kaito savagely and mercilessly devoured the food, and while others cowered in fear of the monster gobbling up the food, Teuchi and Ayame simply prepared more bowls. In one way or another, it could be seen as satisfying a titan's appetite.

Kaito guessed around his third bowl Ayame had gossiped to a customer or two, because people soon came to congratulate him on passing the exams.

"This is only one step, you know." A man said.

"I know," Kaito said in between slurps, "But this means that I'm ready to be a ninja. So," he pushed the bowl aside, "I wonder who I'll be paired up with..."

. . .

Kaito eagerly sat at his seat the next day, fully awake. Ren had passed and was sitting next to Kaito, bored and tired, waiting to hear what squad he was in.

He barely paid attention to any of the other squads as Aburame-sensei called their names. Kaito was only listening for either his or his friend's name. Hopefully they'd be together.

"Team 10. Ren Yoshido, Emi Tachibana, and Takehiro."

Kaito nudged Ren with his elbow.

"You know 'em?"

"Nah, but I'm sure I'll meet them soon enough." He said dryly.

"Team 11, Kaito Koizumi, Hayato Maki, and Aoi Suzuki."

"Huh. I don't know any of them." Kaito practically deflated. He was hoping that they're be paired together so badly.

"I hear Aoi's a beauty." A kid behind Kaito whispered.

"Yeah," another kid agreed, "Her teammates must be lucky. She's so cute..."

"Now you know." Ren smirked, "You excited?"

"Heh. Not a bad start if you ask me." He smiled, laying back in his seat.

"I'll tell each of you what time and place you are to meet your jounin sensei." the instructor said, "It's up to you whether you get to know each other."

. . .

By the time Kaito came from the bathroom, his two teammates were just getting comfortable. He looked at his teammates. The girl, Aoi, Kaito remembered, looked fully rested. She had dark blue, almost black eyes, with long, smooth black hair. She wore a turquoise sleeveless robe, short-sleeved mesh armor worn underneath, and gray shorts with the standard sandals. She sat on the bench and twirled her hair with her finger idly, waiting for the sensei to come.

A boy was leaning on a pillar, twirling a kunai in the air. He had black chin-length spiky hair, and had cold, liquid hazel eyes. He wore bandages around his arms and wrists, black shorts, blue shinobi sandals, and a black shirt with mesh armor underneath. Kaito noticed that his hair resembled the runner-up first Hokage in a slight way. Was Madara his name..? Kaito forget. The history of the Leaf wasn't exactly his best subject.

He glanced at Kaito, and then went back to twirling the kunai.

Kaito sat down on the bench Aoi was sitting at.

"Oh, hi," she said, finally noticing him, "I'm Aoi. You are?"

"I'm Kaito-"

A smoke cloud appeared in front of them. A man with a Leaf flak jacket appeared, wearing a simple blue full-body suit underneath, blue strapped up sandals, and short metal-plated gloves. His hair was a light brown, a Konohagakure hitai-ate wrapped around his forehead, and he had warm brown eyes. Then a smoke cloud appeared on his face, his face disappearing, a piece of paper with "Foor eht fo pot" appearing on it.

After a while, Aoi tilted her head and muttered, "Top of the roof?"

Hayato was the first to leave the room, figuring it out first, followed by Aoi, and finally Kaito, clumsily following behind them. _'I knew it was backwards... Pft, obvious...'_

. . .

The real jounin was sitting on the railing of the rooftop, a dull expression on his face. The kids arrived, and it took the man a moment to realize that it was his students and not some Academy kids who got lost on the rooftop.

"Welcome," he announced, perking up, "So, you must be Hayato," he said, pointing at Kaito, "You Kaito, and you Aoi."

Kaito sweatdropped.

"I'm Kaito, sensei." Kaito said, sitting down next to Aoi.

"I'm Hayato." The boy said, sitting down a little distanced from the other two.

"Oh, sorry." He scratched the back of his head. "I'm your jounin-sensei, Sora Hayabusa. As you know, teamwork is everything in a squad. So, I'd like you to talk about each other. A friend of mine told some of us jounin some exercises to help us in case we didn't-well, that's not important. Basically the exercise is to, you know, get to know your teammates. I'd like you to tell me your likes and dislikes, and your goals or dreams.

"For instance, I like books, and being more specific I enjoy underdog books, or ones regarding money. I dislike... various things, like when someone is taking an looong time in a line for no apparent reason. Just today I was-" After seeing the students sweat drop, he cleared his throat and continued on towards his goals. " Lastly, one of my goals is to visit The Mist Village in search of the second volume of Coins a'Million. It's a great series about this boy who-Well, I'm getting off topic again. Do it just like that." He smiled.

Aoi and Kaito sweatdropped.

'_Not sure how I should like sensei..._' Kaito thought.

"I'd like to go first!" Aoi rose her hand. Sensei nodded at her and she began. "I like snow cones, dislike intense heat, and my goal is to prove that a strong mind overcomes masculine strength, or brute force. The Fifth Hokage was the first lady to become Hokage and saved the villagers almost at the price of her life. I believe she is one of the greatest icons of all in history, and I aspire to be as strong as she is."

"Huh," Sora-sensei said, "I like your spunk, kid! Who's next?"

"I'll go!" Kaito exclaimed. "I love spicy rice balls and ramen, and don't get me started about when they're mixed together! I dislike sour sweets or anything along those lines, and I can't tolerate spinach..." He paused for a moment to shiver. "My goal is to become in a higher position of authority to change some things. It could be viewed as selfish, but it'll be worth it."

Sensei smirked and gave Kaito a peculiar glance. "Good luck kid," he said, then added, "Did you say spicy rice balls?"

"Yessir!" he smiled, "My mom used to make them all the time! She taught me, and I guarantee they're the best you'll ever taste!"

"Hmm..." He said, and after a moment turned to Hayato. "You're up."

He looked around and inwardly sighed. He rose his hands and began making a series of hand signs.

As he continued, Kaito looked around and muttered, "Is he summoning a demon..?"

Aoi giggled at this, and shook her head no. "He's doing sign language. I've seen my mother do it before, but I never learned."

Sora, however, was clearly well-versed in this area, because he nodded with deep understanding, and even rose his eyebrow at a couple of things.

"That's fair enough," The jounin said, standing up. "Ah, this is quite the interesting group we've got here. I can't wait to go on our first mission. Tomorrow."

"What type of mission? Hunting down a rogue ninja? Taking down a pack of crazed animals?" Kaito guessed excitedly.

"No, but it will be no less challenging. It's a survival exercise."

"Wait, why are we doing that? We just passed, what's the point of it?" Kaito asked.

"Well... Out of all the graduates, only nine will make it. The others will be sent back to the Academy. This," he said, suddenly serious, "is a pass or fail test. There's a higher chance you'll fail than pass. Specifically a 66% chance of passing. I decide, basically, whether you pass or fail. Be at the designated location at 11 A.M. And bring all of your ninja gear. That's all," he made a one-handed Tiger seal, "You're dismissed." He disappeared in a puff of smoke.

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><p>They all arrived at the training field at 10:30 A.M., even Kaito, who began to doze off because of his natural lack of sleep. Not even 15 minutes later, Sora showed up, a book in hand. The book was labeled "The History of Coins". It struck Kaito as weird that he had a book labeled that.<p>

"You guys are early." He put his book away.

Kaito and Aoi moaned, while Hayato glared at the jounin.

"So, for this test, all you have to do is get the three golden coins." He held three coins in his hand, and then dropped them into the ground. He made a hand seal, and they transformed into clones, each one having a different hairstyle. They quickly scattered. "I advise that you come at me like you want to kill me. I know," he said, combing his hair with his hand. "It'll be hard to hurt a beautiful face like this. Just try your hardest."

Kaito slowly got up to stand next to his teammates.

"Ready."

Kaito moved his hand to his shuriken holster.

"Set..."

He grabbed three shuriken, gripping them tightly between his fingers.

"Start!"

They all shunshined to secretive locations in the forest.

"Huh..." Sora said, "They're not half bad."

He turned to find Kaito staring at him.

Sora sweatdropped.

"You're not as smart as the others, are you?"

Three shuriken flew at Sora from behind. He quickly grabbed a kunai from his pouch and deflected all three.

"Nice try..." He said, realizing that the person that was standing there was a clone. Three more shuriken, from another direction, flew at him again. He deflected them, catching the last one with his hand, then suddenly stopped.

Kaito used this opportunity and jumped from the bushes, kunai in hand, aimed for his sensei.

"Haaa!" He screamed.

He jumped and brought his foot down, slamming his heel on the jounin's head and sending him crashing into the ground. He then brought down the kunai—when he was suddenly interrupted by a hand grabbing his and stopping the blade. It was Sora.

"What?" Kaito mumbled, "How..." The Sora on the ground was now a piece of wood, and the ground around it showed signs of smoke fading.

He flung Kaito into a tree. Kaito groaned in pain.

"Your teammate is smart, Kaito." He said. '_The shuriken he threw at my clone had wires attached to it. He was sending chakra into the wire to immobilise me. These kids are better than I thought._' Sora thought.

Kaito got up and into a fighting stance. He dashed towards his sensei.

"Shinobi skill, rule number one: Taijutsu."

Kaito swung his foot at Sora's head, which he easily evaded. He crouched to the ground, then did a low sweep kick to his sensei's legs. Sora jumped, kicking off Kaito and launching him into the dirt as Sora leapt in the air, landing gracefully on the vibrant grass a couple of feet in front of him.

Kaito spat out dirt and gave the man a malicious glare.

"Grrr..." He said, getting back up. He ran at him again, pulling his arm back. He screamed in outrage, throwing his fists out in a blind fury. Sora appeared behind him, his hand around Kaito's neck and a kunai pointed at his back.

"Don't let your enemy get behind you." Sora whispered with evil intent.

. . .

Aoi already figured out that Sora had moved, and was tracking him down. She planned on telling her teammates, but they both were engaged in combat with the clone.

She stopped on a branch above Sora.

He was building up his chakra, and she used this chance to attack. She dropped silently from the trees, landing on top of him. Caught of gaurd, he reached for a weapon.

Aoi quickly brought out a kunai and held it near his throat.

"Mind summoning those clones, sensei?" She winked.

He smirked. His eye twitched rapidly, his hair slowly grew down his back, changing from brown to golden. He thrust his head forward, driving the kunai into his neck. Aoi screamed and backed up, more confused than horrified. The body was still breathing, though it lay limp as if it were dead.

Then the body rose, suddenly on fire.

Aoi shrieked in fear as the clone spewed massive amounts of flames on her, the kunoichi soon becoming consumed in the flames.

From far away, the sound of clashing metal could be heard.

. . .

Hayato was engaged in fierce combat with the jounin.

He evaded several kunai with explosive tags attached to them. He had enough time to fling himself off the branch before the tree exploded. He breathed heavily.

Hayato heard the sizzle of something burning.

He cursed, and an explosion from behind knocked him forward. He rolled into a crouching position, then shunshined to another branch. He began storing chakra when a kunai whizzed past his face. He took out two long threads of wire, wrapping it around two kunai, and implanted the kunai into the branch. He then wrapped the rest of the wire around his arms, and leaned back just as a fireball shot at the place he was just sitting. He free-fell backwards, and then wrapped his arms around the wire and yanked, stopping his descent. He maneuvered himself to the point where he had good footing on the thin wire. A fireball made it's way below him, exploding on impact, singeing the ground around the newly created crater.

Hayato twisted in the air, cutting the wire. He pushed off of a tree, onto a branch, and began moving again, unknowingly leaving a trail of blood drops for the jounin.

. . .

Aoi yelled at the top of her lungs, trying to pat down the fire that now consumed her completely. She panicked. '_No_,' She yelled, '_It'll come off! It will come off_!"

Her body flailed around helplessly, trying to extinguish the fire. She swatted at her cloth, tears streaming down her face.

Something told her to calm down, it was only an trick. But the illusion seemed too real, her flesh beginning to melt off.

She slowly stopped panicking and took a deep breath.

"Calm... Down..." Aoi told herself. This wasn't the first time she had been trapped in a genjutsu, just the first time it's been a strong one like this one. Her mother would laugh if she saw her like this.

She brought her shaking hands together, and made a hand seal.

"Release!" She spoke aloud, and the jutsu dispersed, revealing her lying on the floor.

"Shinobi battle techniques part two," the sensei said from above her. She yelped, then shunshined away. "Genjutsu." Sora said with a smirk.

. . .

Hayato wiped the sweat from his face as he pushed off one last tree, satisfied. He flinched and looked down at his leg, where there was a slight gash leaking blood. He cursed. He heard heavy breathing from far away. He glanced around cautiously, and then the sudden rustle of leaves made him jerk up, his guard on high alert. Suddenly a form was in front of him, deflecting shuriken and kunai at a rapid pace.

When the projectiles stopped flying, the stranger turned around to reveal it was Aoi, his teammate.

She quickly knelt by his side, getting some ointment from her bag and placing it on the wound without a word.

"You know," she said finally, after wrapping up the wound, "You could rely on us."

"You two were trapped in a genjutsu, if I remember correctly." Sora's voice sounded from within the woods.

"Two?" Aoi asked, then sighed. "Kaito too?"

"Yes. You passed him, shockingly."

"Ugh," she groaned. Hayato quickly took out a kunai and threw it past Aoi's face. She gasped as it hit a shuriken aimed at the two from faraway.

"Nice job." He said, appearing on a tree two feet in front of the genin. "Too bad this is the end. You've failed." He said, and three other clones appeared on branches, surrounding us. Each clone had a wacky hairstyle. Those were Hayato's targets.

His teammate gulped.

Hayato made a _tsk_ sound. He made a Tiger seal with one hand, and the sizzling sound of a bomb went off in numerous sections of the forest.

_Boom!_

Trees around them blew up, causing the clones to poof out of existence, coins falling to the ground in their place. Their tree rustled.

The two jumped off the tree and onto another before the previous collapsed.

"When did you set that up?" Aoi asked, a hint of relief in her voice.

"When I felt I wasn't being followed." Hayato said simply.

Suddenly Hayato felt a quick jab to his neck, and he fell off of the tree, landing on the ground roughly. Aoi came down after him, falling limply.

Hayato struggled to keep his eyes open.

"You've done well, up until now. But-"

"Hyaa!" Kaito's voice roared, then a _smack_ sounded throughout the forest.

. . .

Sora rubbed his cheek. "You actually hit me." He said, shocked.

"Hehe," Kaito said, "Aoi didn't pass me. She got me while you were tracking a false one! This battle isn't over yet!"

Kaito pulled out six kunai, three in each hand.

"Did I tell you the third battle technique yet?" Sora asked, getting up slowly.

Kaito rose an eyebrow.

"It is-"

"I don't care!" Kaito yelled, jumping in the air. He threw one kunai at the jounin who stood dumbfounded at his student's rashness. The teacher caught the poorly thrown kunai. Kaito spun in the air, throwing the rest of them at his sensei wildly.

He deflected the one that was close to him, then scratched his head.

"Are you serious right now?" He asked as Kaito fell to the ground.

His teammates stirred behind him.

"Prepare for my secret, ultimate, new technique!"

Kaito made the Ram seal and began storing chakra.

"Ah," Sora said, getting into a battle stance, "What have we got here?"

"Here we go!" Kaito yelled, then a smoke cloud engulfed him, in his place took place a young woman with white hair in a long ponytail in a blue bikini.

"Sexy Jutsu!" The woman said in an seductive tone, making a seductive pose.

The sensei's mouth dropped. He immediately had a major nosebleed, sending the sensei flying into the tree behind him.

His teammates, using the distraction to get the coins, sat wearily behind Kaito, showing off the coins.

"That's the technique used by the Hokage, isn't it?" Hayato mumbled.

"Yes," a tick mark appearing on Aoi's forehead, "Yes it is. Who taught it to an idiot like him, I have no idea."

Another smoke cloud appeared and Kaito sat with a goofy grin, thumbs up at his sensei.

"Hehe," he called, "We won!"

"Yeah," the sensei got up, wiping his nose, "You did. I just can't believe I got caught by _that_."

Kaito would _never_ admit to secretly watching the Hokage's son, Bolt, as he trained with his mentor, Konohamaru. Learning this technique, he knew he'd surprise anyone, especially male.

"Neither can I..." Aoi said through gritted teeth, a murderous aura around her.

"Ahaha... Ha... Ha?" Kaito said before the kunoichi punched him, causing him to have a huge bruise on top of his forehead.

"Ouch..." he whined, rubbing the bruise, "What was that for?!"

"Humph." Aoi turned her head.

Sora laughed. "What a team I've got..." He said to himself, staring at the blue sky.

* * *

><p><strong>AN:<strong>

**Thanks for reading this one-shot. JUST KIDDING! Could you imagine if I did that though? Hehe...**

**Thanks again for reading the first chapter. I'll update as much as I can. This is my first third person fanfic, so I'm sorry if I didn't do well. Leave a review, whether it's a tip or just how much you liked it.**

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><p><strong>Update: 111/2015 1:45 P.M**

**I've updated this chapter due to the end of the Naruto series. I'm starting to go through each chapter and not only change a couple of things, but add more information and hopefully more detail. Thanks for reading! Don't stop here; click the next chapter!**


	2. The Man

**Arc One, Chapter 2: The Man**

* * *

><p><em>"The new tune which was to be the theme-song of Hate Week (the Hate Song it was called) had already been composed..." - George Orwell, 1984.<em>

* * *

><p>Kaito flopped to the ground, panting heavily.<p>

"Come on Kaito," Aoi cheered, "You can do it!"

"You're almost there!" Sora encouraged.

"I can't," he wheezed, "It's too much..."

"Just three more! Hayato's doing one, so that makes two!"

A tick mark appeared on Kaito's head.

"Why the hell do we have to push _boulders_ up a hill!? And why aren't you helping?"

"The client said he wants to add these to his collection. And, I'm not helping because girls shouldn't have to do this sort of work."

"Was he drunk when he made this request?"

"I doubt it," Sora said, "Usually drunkards can't find their way to the mansion."

"Don't listen to him. I can name a number of times the Fifth has entered the mansion drunk." Aoi deadpanned.

Kaito stood up, glaring at the two ninja.

"Why aren't you helping, sensei?"

"Same reason as Aoi."

"Because you're a girl?"

"Oh, heavens no. Because I'm lazy."

"Huh. At least you have the courtesy to admit it." Kaito sweatdropped.

"What? No! I'm not lazy!" Aoi denied.

He began rolling the boulder uphill when Hayato came down. Kaito felt a surge of energy and pushed the boulder quickly. Hayato, who hadn't broken a sweat yet, pushed his boulder behind Kaito. When they got to the top, they rolled the rocks next to the others. An elderly man came out of a clumsily built house. He was very thin, and had pointy gray beard and a bald scalp that made him look like an old monk.

"Thank you," He smiled, "I really appreciate it."

"Phew," Kaito said, wiping the sweat from his face, "No problem!"

Hayato started on his way down as Sora and Aoi made their way up. Kaito leaned on one of the boulders. It started moving beneath his weight, and soon it pushed the others down the hill. Kaito fell to the ground, muttering "Oops." silently.

The eight boulders came crashing down like an avalanche, carrying dirt and grit with them. Hayato turned around and his shoulders slumped. They all deadpanned, their eyes twitching twice.

"If we survive this," Sora said, "Kaito better run. Fast." Sora yelled the last part loud enough for the ninja to hear him.

"Agreed." The two said through gritted teeth, and then the avalanche descended upon them.

The old man stood near Kaito, peering at the destruction below.

"It won't be too long, now, until they come after you. You should use this opportunity as a head start. Don't worry; I won't take any of the pay off. Now hurry on, young man!"

Kaito got up and ran, yelling "Thank you!" while the aged man waved good-bye politely.

"Kaito..." His team spoke in menacing harmony.

Kaito dashed through the streets of Konoha, searching for the Hokage's mansion. He happened to be in a crowded section of Konoha, a shopping center with tons of tourists and local villagers, tons of merchants set up. He turned right to find Hayato, his hair concealing his face. He cracked his knuckles and raised his head, his eyes burning a wicked red as he glared venomously at Kaito.

"You're. Dead." He said, and an evil aura around him.

Kaito gulped and turned left to find Aoi with the same scary aura, walking slowly to Kaito.

Kaito shivered instinctively, and looked up to see his sensei on the building above him, glaring at him with the same aura as the others.

He was trapped, with only one way to go: forward. It no doubt held a trap for him, but he'd rather that then deal with them. He ran down that street. Merchants spat curses at him as he bumped into them and their customers, but he ignored it. He could see the shadow of his sensei in the corner of his eye, leaping from building to building.

His sprint was short lived when he bumped into someone, falling down.

"Watch it!" Yelled a familiar voice.

Kaito lifted his head to see his friend Ren.

When he stood, brushing his clothes off, his eyes locked onto his friend. He wore his hitai-ate on his right elbow. Ren's eyebrows rose.

"Kaito!" He held a hand out. Kaito grabbed it, and he lifted the genin up. "Why were you running?"

A figure flew at Kaito. He back flipped and dodged Hayato, his fist leaving a crack in the ground. Aoi was suddenly behind him, Sora-sensei on the side of him. Sora raised his hand without turning towards the genin, and slammed it on his head. Kaito landed silently on the ground, his butt sticking in the air, and a small soul escaped from his open mouth.

"Haha..." Ren said nervously.

"Ren-chan!" A girl's voice squealed.

Ren blushed and swung his head around.

"Stop calling me that!"

Three people came to join Ren, one wearing a flak jacket similar to Sora's.

A boy that stood slightly taller than Ren, with short spiky brown hair, dark brown eyes, walked next to him. He had a dim blue zip-up jacket, black Shinobi sandals, and gray pants on. He wore his hitai-ate on his forehead.

A girl a little smaller than Ren ran next to him. She had blond hair wrapped in a high-ponytail, cut right below the shoulder-blades, and three long strands of hair on the right side of her face. She wore a yellow short-sleeved qipao-style blouse with red trimmings, dark blue shorts, blue sandals, and fingerless gloves.

A man scratching his head slowly walked to stand next to the kids. The man has black hair which he ties into a short, high-top ponytail. He also has a goatee and dark-green markings underneath his eyes — which gives him a somewhat lazy, or tired appearance. Attire-wise, he wears the standard outfit of the Konoha shinobi consisting of the standard flak jacket and uniform. He wore his forehead protector strapped on his left leg.

"Oh, hey Ensui." Greeted Sora.

"Hey." He replied tiredly.

"Sensei, who's this?" The blond girl asked.

"We're Team 11." Kaito said, staggering his way next to his team.

"I'm Aoi Suzuki." She bowed.

"Hayato Maki."

"Kaito Koizumi!" He tapped his headband with his thumb.

"I'm Sora Hayabusa." The man waved.

"Team 10, nice to meet you," the girl said, "I'm Emi Tachibana." She bowed.

"Ren Yoshido." He bobbed his head.

"Takehiro!" He gave thumbs up and smiled. His teeth were so white that they twinkled.

"Ensui Nara." He said nodded, his voice had a tint of sternness in it.

"Where're you guys headed to?" Aoi asked.

"Hey!" a woman who's booth they crashed in front of yelled, "Are you starting up trouble in front of my booth?" The woman had her hair in a bun, straight bangs covering her entire forehead also while wearing red dangling earrings. She sported a long-sleeved white blouse with a high collar and red fastener and edges paired with similarly coloured, puffy pants that look like a hakama, with the exposed parts of her legs near the waist covered in bandages. She tapped her foot impatiently on the ground with her black, open-toed sandals with low heels, and the shoes extend to the lower ankles.

Her store was one that sold tons of weapons. It was a very peculiar weapon shack, because there were a set of weapons labelled "not on sale" that looked pretty useless. All there was was a gourd some rope, and a giant fan. Pretty lame if you asked Kaito.

"I'll have you know-"

"Nii-chan?"" Takehiro blinked.

"Wha- _Takehiro_? What are you doing here?"

"We're heading back from a mission."

"Same here," Aoi shot Kaito a cold look, "We had to leave our mission to Sora-sensei's clones due to a... mishap."

Emi whispered in Ren's ear, and then retreated to the side of him.

He sighed and said, "What was your mission?"

"We had to carry fake boulders with a special sort of rock in the middle of them."

"W-wait, fake?"

"Yes, Kaito, fake. It has some sort of special rock in the middle, though, and that is what makes it heavy. I don't think you could roll an actual boulder." Aoi stated.

"I could've if I tried..." Kaito pouted.

"Yeah. We know." Sora said, shaking his head. "You guys got anything planned for today?"

"We're going to celebrate our passing today." Takehiro said, "I'm also showing some merchandise. Need any more kunai? How about shuriken? I've got them at the cheapest of prices!" He flicked his wrists and three shuriken appeared in his left hand, five kunai in his right.

Tenten sweatdropped. "At this point, I'm not sure if he got the idea from me, or if I got the idea from him..."

"Probably the second one nii-chan," Takehiro smiled, "But how about it guys?"

"No thanks..." They all said simultaneously.

"I've also for some good deals on explosives!"

Sora looked intrigued. Kaito noticed the facial expression and realized the horror that might take place if Sora actually got some explosives.

"You know, I think we've got everything!" Kaito said, chuckling nervously.

"Okay. Tell me when you want some, though. I've got them at the cheapest prices."

"Back on that celebration subject," Kaito turned to Sora, "When are _we_ going to celebrate?"

Sora blinked.

"Hmm..." He rubbed his chin, "How about with Shikamaru's team? You don't mind, do ya?"

"I-"

"Great!" Sora exclaimed. "Come on team! Let's do one more mission." He shoved the three ninja forward hurriedly.

"Ugh..." Kaito complained.

Kaito noticed that Emi was staring at Hayato, and when he glanced her way she blushed, hiding behind Ren.

"Wait!" Ensui called, but it was too late; they already left, disappearing within the crowd.

Ensui sighed with resignation. "I need to speak quicker..."

. . .

Kaito and his team arrived at Yakiniku Q after completing their final mission for the day. They entered the restaurant and went to Ensui's team. Takehiro was at another table, offering flash bombs to a couple that were in the process of declining as politely as possible. The restaurant had green cushions on their seats, menus plastered on the walls. Each table has a charcoal brazier built in the centre and is equipped with tongs for cooking, which customers use to cook their own food after ordering it. Ensui's team had already ordered the food by the time Kaito's group came, and the smell of cooking meat began filling their area.

"Hey Ren!" Kaito exclaimed, holding out his fist.

"Yo!" He fist-bumped his childhood friend.

Hayato sat quietly in between Aoi and Sora, directly across from Emi. She slightly blushed. As it stood, Kaito was on the end, on his right Aoi, then there was Hayato, and then Sora. Ren had just taken his seat in front of Sora, Ensui on his right, Emi after, and an empty seat in front of Kaito. Kaito assumed Takehiro would be sitting there, and his suspicions were only confirmed when Takehiro came back, failing to gain a customer.

Takehiro sat in front of Kaito, staring at him for a moment.

"Who are you?"

Kaito looked around in disbelief.

"_Me_? I'm Kaito. Don't you remember me from earlier?"

"Huh? Was it today?"

"Take-san," Emi said, shaking her head, "You forget too much. We're working on that from now on."

"Sorry!" He smiled, scratching the back of his head. He picked up a chopstick and put pieces of meat on a saucer near him. Kaito did the same, and suddenly the plate was gone.

"Who took my-"

"Thanks!" She chimed in, placing a piece of pork in her mouth. Aoi waved her hand, smiling.

"Hey! Give it back!"

"Nope. You owe me this from earlier. Just make another plate."

"Fine." He said reluctantly, grabbing more pieces of meat.

Kaito took his first bite of the pork "Mmm." He moaned in delight, the taste of the meat indescribable.

"This is so good!" Emi blushed, touching her hand to her face.

"I've been here a few times. My cousin suggested it. I'm glad you like it." Ensui smiled.

"How often do you come here?" Takehiro asked after devouring several sticks of celery.

"Only on special occasions. I think you guys graduating is a big deal, so I thought of this place almost instantly."

"This place is great. I can't believe I've never eaten here before." Sora said.

Ensui pinched the bridge of his nose.

"We ate here two weeks ago..."

"Oh yeah!" Sora snapped his fingers, "That's when I brought that sake! Boy that Akimichi guy sure can eat."

"Yeah. Ino, Shikamaru and Sai want to see me after the day is over."

"Ah, do I have to go also?"

"Nah, it's just a personal matter."

"Oh, ok."

"Sorry I'm late," A man entered their area, "Shikadai needed some persuasion to trade."

"Shikamaru! Speaking of the devil!" Sora cheered.

The man named Shikamaru had an open high-collared short-sleeved white coat over a black shirt, a peculiar necklace draped around his neck. His pants were black also, his sandals open-toed and his hair tied up in a ponytail. His narrow brown eyes peered at the genin. "This is certainly more than four, Ensui."

"I agree. Sora joined last minute." Ensui nodded.

"What's that saying? 'The more the better'? I like that saying." Sora smiled. "Here Shikamaru, a seat right here!" He patted the seat at the end of the table. The man simply made his way around the table without complaint. If that were Kaito, Sora would have to pay for Kaito's meal just to get him over there.

Shikamaru sat down and Ensui handed him a plate. "Ah, thank you."

"Is this the man who you were talking about, Ensui-sensei?" Takehiro asked after placing some meat into his mouth.

"Hmm? Oh, yes, Shikamaru was the one who suggested this restaurant to me."

"You all like it?" Shikamaru asked. "Yessir!" Kaito grinned. Everyone else nodded in agreement, smiling pleasantly at the jonin.

"Great," He smiled, "Working with Naruto and dealing with village issues- Boruto especially- is such a trouble. Coming here helps me relax sometimes..."

Everone blinked. "Waaait, wait wait wait," Kaito put down the meat - and that was saying something for Kaito - and stared at the man before him. "You work with the Hokage?"

Shikamaru turned to Ensui, then back to the genin. "Yeah, I'm his advisor and personal guard... I thought Ensui told you this."

Ensui shrugged as shoulders as if to say "Whoops!". Kaito's gaze turned from one of baffled to awe-inspired. "That's _awesome!_ Why haven't we seen you?"

"Raising a son and handling someone _else's_ son has its toll you know... I caught a cold from Shizune who caught it from Boruto..," Shikamaru shook his head, "It's all a dra- A lot of work." He corrected himself.

"Say, Shikamaru," Sora finished eating, "Where are you going to later?"

Shikamaru stopped eating for a moment, then smiled. "Nowhere," he said, "Just to go visit an old friend."

"Oh, alright."

Kaito couldn't tell if Sora wanted to press on or just wasn't interested at the point, but regardless Sora sat back and asked no questions. In the corner of Kaito's eyes, though, he could see the Shikamaru reach into his pocket and fumble with something silver.

* * *

><p>"This is our sixth mission! Are you as excited as I am?" Sora asked, shockingly with not a bit of sarcasm.<p>

The team was utterly tired, and had no energy to reply to their sensei's question. They could barely drag themselves out of bed this early in the morning. Sora was a morning person on certain occasions apparently. Unfortunately for them, missions happened to be one of the occasions.

"Oh, come on, you little killjoys. The early bird catches the worm, right?"

"The early bird dies when that bird is pushed out the next and falls." Kaito glared at the hyperactive man.

"Why do you hate us so...?" Aoi whimpered.

"Oh come on. Waking up a tad bit early can't be _that_ bad."

The team had a moment of silence for the hours of sleep that been killed before their eyes. Kaito almost shed a tear.

Sora opened the door and walked into the room, his squad walking wearily behind him.

There stood a long table where the Hokage and other ninja sat, distributing the missions. Shikamaru was there also, and greeted Sora's team appropriately.

The Hokage's face was concealed by the customary Hokage hat and hair, shadows cast over it to disguise his facial expression.

"Hokage-sama?" Sora asked cautiously as they walked up to the desk.

His head suddenly fell to the desk with a hard thud.

Aoi screamed as Sora and Shikamaru rushed to his side. The ninja around him helped the Hokage up, placing him on the seat.

"Is he still breathing?" One ninja asked.

"Uncertain."

Then, without warning, a loud snore rang throughout the entire room. The ninja around the Hokage face-vaulted.

"The Hokage is ... Asleep...He's just...wow." said Hayato.

"Agreed." The other two said simultaneously. Then they both blinked. "Did you just speak?" Kaito asked incredulously. Not another word was uttered from the raven-haired genii's mouth.

"Why you little!" A ninja said, shaking the blond furiously.

"Huh?" He came to, rubbing his eyes. "Ahehe... Sorry. I was a little sleepy." He scratched his face.

Sora regained his composure.

"Naruto-san, please don't scare us like that. We'd like to request a mission." Sora stated politely.

"Oh, I've got just the one. It's around here somewhere..." He began searching through an unorganized pile of papers. The Hokage's eyes had heavy bags under them. In fact, as Kaito peered more closely he could see some red paint on the Hokage's cheek.

"Here it is!" He beamed, raising the paper high. He cleared his throat. "You need to find Sen's several dogs."

"Old Man Sen?" Aoi asked, "I know him! He lost Jun, Kimi, and Rina?"

"Uh-huh!" Naruto shook his head.

"Poor Sen-san..." Aoi shook her head.

"Where does he live?"

"He lives near Old Man Yama, the guy we helped yesterday. The one with the rocks?"

"Oh! He seemed pretty cool."

"Yeah, well sometimes Sen can be the _opposite_ of Yama. Just don't aggravate him."

"Me?" A huge grin appeared on Kaito's face, "I could never aggravate someone! Right?"

"Wrong." She replied blatantly, turning around and walking out the room.

. . .

"Whadd'ya want?" The old man groaned irritably, glaring at the Shinobi.

"We've come for your request... Do you remember?"

He blinked.

"Of course I remember!" He yelled, swinging his cane in undirected anger, "Hurry up and get to the job then!"

As he turned around, Hayato stopped him. He whispered in the man's ear, and the man suddenly burst into laughter. They whispered amongst themselves furtively as Hayato maintained his blank, iron face. Kaito and Aoi glanced at each other uneasily until Sora cleared his throat.

"Can we please get on with the mission? Do you have any-"

"I lost them around the time I went around the gates." He interrupted. His tone was no longer the grumpy old weary man, but a happy, ingenuous one.

"Uh... Thank... Thank you." Aoi stammered. Aoi was clearly at a loss of words. And Kaito couldn't blame her; if all he'd known were the loathsome forgetful man she knew, seeing him happy at least _once_ would totally throw his world around.

"No problem." Sen smilled. They began to leave when Sen stopped Sora. "Keep good care of that boy. He's a smart one, he is!"

"Uh... Alright." Sora blinked, and then caught up with the others.

"Boy, what'd you say to him Hayato?"

"I just told him if he didn't work with us I'd split his skull open with a dull blade."

His teammates stopped in their tracks as he kept walking.

"And that worked?" Kaito asked incredulously.

"Yup. He told me, 'I'd sell my soul to a demon before I'd let you touch me', and I said, 'That demon would be a fool to get in my way'. And _then_-"

"No, no," Aoi interrupted, "I've had enough of this for one day."

"Enough of what?"

"Nonsense."

"Ah," Sora nodded, "That's fair."

. . .

"We're going to split up. If you find one of the dogs, meet up at the old man's house. I'll search in the village while you search near the gates. Break!" At the final word, they all scattered.

Hayato was the first to find a dog matching the appearance the owner described. The pup was whimpering in a dark corner of an abandoned building. Hayato looked around; then, making sure no one was watching, bent down and scratched behind the puppy's ears. It weakly licked his hands, so Hayato gently pat its head, picking the dog up carefully. He then took the long way to the man's house, playing with the small canine along the way.

Aoi was the second, finding a dog with a golden collar, "Kimi" engraved roughly on it, playing with a small group of children. Aoi politely asked could she get the dog back, to which the kids responded by sticking their tongues out. She sighed, then in an instant she disappeared. The kids looked around until they spotted her far away, the dog in her hands. She waved slyly before going back to the house.

When Kaito found his dog, it wasn't as easy as he had thought it would be. A dog with "Rina" scrawled fuzzily on the silver collar that was wrapped firmly around the dog's neck was quietly roaming the streets. From far away the dog looked harmless. Unfortunately for Kaito, he wasn't far away. As soon as Kaito bent down to pet it, it bit his metal-covered arm warmer with a ferocious grip. Kaito screamed in fear, trying to shake off the canine. But the dog had clasped onto the iron like, well, iron. Kaito glared at the dog before running to the owner's house, hoping he would have the answer to getting the beast off. The dog growled menacingly while biting rigidly into the poor ninja's arm, almost as if telling Kaito his hopes were to be in vain.

. . .

"Get him off!" Kaito complained, shaking his arm with all his might.

"Rina. Release!" The dog let its grip go, dropping to the floor as soundly as a leaf. "Good girl!" He rubbed the dog's head.

"Thank you. I have already given your sensei the money." Sen smiled innocently. "Now scat!" He slammed the door.

"I hate that guy..." Kaito uttered.

"I don't _hate_ him," Aoi made a confused look; "I just don't get him. I mean, why-"

"Guys." Hayato interrupted.

His teammates stared at him. This was the first time he came into a conversation without being asked a question. This was a rare sight to them.

"Sora's over there." He pointed towards a of mass of people that surrounded a small stage.

"Where?" Kaito peered into the crowd; his eyes squinted, and said "I can't see him." An irresistible urge to look at the sky overtook Kaito; it was pale blue like his mother's eyes, he remembered faintly, the few clouds in the sky fairly fluffy and resembled jumbled cotton balls. The sun's burning passion had died down this day, he also noticed, and this struckKaito as strange; the past few days the sun had been outrageously cruel, waking up without a pack of ice on Kaito's body becoming a more and more impossible task.

Without a word, Hayato started walking to the crowd, snapping Kaito out of his trance. Kaito and Aoi jogged to his side as they entered the cluster. They quickly found Sora near the front. There was a loud voice that sounded on the stage. "If we believe in a truly just world, why don't we all migrate where we please? Why can't we freely go to each land? I'll tell you why. Because one war can't solve everything. There are still differences. There are still people out there. The very man who assassinated the Third Hokage has been sighted! This day and age, they claim that peace and prosperity are ruling the land. It only took one death to spark a war. The jinchuuriki are back. How do we know that Orochimaru will not do the same thing Madara and the Akatsuki are doing? I say we put an end to this. Enough questions! I say we get answers! Have civilians go in on Gokage meetings! Or, better yet, have them in the open! Enough of this age of secrecy! Join me, friends. Join the Leup movement! To a new world, a trust world, a _just_ world!" As soon as Kaito had reached their sensei, it was as if the flesh-to-fabric contact had sparked a fuse in the crowd. The hymn of chaos arose, and that's when the shouts began.

"That's stupid!" A man yelled.

"Get out of here!" Another civilian screamed, throwing paper at the man on the stage. Soon they all began rumbling up papers and throwing them. Kaito caught one and unfolded it to see a burning leaf logo drawn onto it, a caption of " THE LEUP MOVEMENT: STAY JUST TO STAY FREE" written on the bottom of it. Kaito looked onto the obviously hand-built, wooden stage to see the man that had challenged their form of government.

The man on stage had black spiky hair tucked underneath a black top hat. The man's peculiar azure eyes stayed calm, and he wore a black vest over a white button-up shirt, and black dress pants with matching shoes.

He absorbed the hits as if they were pillows, the viciously thrown tomatoes and fruit leaving stains on his shirt. Kaito looked at his sensei, who stared at the man with interest, until Kaito became enraged. Acts like this were crazy and down right dirty. "Sora-sensei, why are they doing this? Why can't they just walk away? Do they have to punish them? Why don't you stop them!?"

Sora looked at his student with sympathy. The look burned a raging fire in the student. If he wasn't going to defend the defenseless, then Kaito would. Before Sora could speak, the genin ran on stage putting himself between the crowd and the man.

"STOP!" Kaito yelled at the top of his lungs.

"Why are you protecting him? He's gone mad!" a woman cried.

"Get away from him so he can't contaminate you with his lies!"

"We're getting rid of ridiculous ideas like his. These are ideas that started the war that killed my son! We shall get rid of these tainted ideas! The hard way!" They screamed. Kaito knew of these people. In this district of Konoha especially were the ones who's family had been killed in the war. It took lots of healing, and some unhealed scars still lay here. Kaito wondered why the man in the top hat would choose this area out of all the others, one where the citizens were trying to forget of their pain filled pasts and move on to a brighter future.

Aoi glanced around nervously. '_This can and will quickly escalate_.' She thought, panicking slightly.

"Kaito!" She hissed, "Get off the stage! He can handle his own problems."

"No! No human deserves this treatment." He said firmly. Kaito was wiling to hold onto the steadfast beliefs his parents had instilled into him... Before they had to...

"Stay out of this!" A gruff voice yelled.

"No!" Kaito roared. A tomato sailed towards Kaito. Kaito crossed his arms, but before it hit him, the tomato was suddenly gone. Kaito blinked, and turned to see the man throw the tomato in the air. He pointed at the tomato.

"You have until that tomato falls to the floor to leave. I suggest you follow my instructions and leave this child be." He told the crowd calmly. The crowd had grown silent quickly until a voice challenged him:

"Is that a threat?" A woman spoke, "I'd like to see you try."

The tomato flew fairly high, so when it began its descent Aoi guessed it would smash into the ground in about ten seconds.

'_One, two, three_.'

The man swiftly moved in front of Kaito, grabbing something that glittered out of his pocket.

'_Four, five_.'

"You'd best hurry." He now had a mischievous grin on his face.

'_Six, seven, eight_.'

Half of the crowd left, mumbling insults under their breath and deciding he wasn't worth their time. The ones who stayed were simply here to call his bluff; they wanted to see what he'd do, if anything at all, and then they'd attack him like a lion on a herd of zebra.

'_Nine_'

The tomato was near the ground. The man threw a large amount of glitter, the sparkling thing he took out of his pocket, into the air. He made Tiger hand seal.

"A ninja?" Hayato muttered.

'_Ten_.'

_Splat!_ The tomato hit the ground. The man sucked in a huge breath, then blew a huge wave of wind, sending the crowd flying with the silver glitter.

"Wind Release: Scattering Stardust!"

Kaito watched from behind as wails went up, women clinging to their husbands, and men reaching out their hands in a failed attempt to grab something that would end their flight.

Aoi appeared next to Kaito, kunai gripped firmly in her hand. Hayato appeared on the man's left and Sora on his right.

The man chuckled to himself.

"You." He turned and pointed to Kaito, "You have a good heart. I respect you for that." He paused, and his lips curved into a clever smile. "We will meet each other again. Until then." He graciously bowed.

"Wait-" But it was too late. He blew at the glitter around his feet, turning in a circle until a glitter cloud blinded their vision.

When the silver dust cleared, the man was gone.

"Sora-senpai, who was that?"

"I.. I can't remember..." He stared into the distance, and then shrugged. "He was probably some weird ninja doing some prank. I think it's about time we do something else today. Let's report this and head onto a new task. I guarantee it'll be fun."

Kaito stared at his sensei's smiling face for a moment and examined it.

That very day, Kaito could see tons of things shooting around in Sora's eyes. What Kaito noticed, however, was that not one of those things in his eyes were the joy or excitement that he feigned so expertly.

* * *

><p><strong>Updated: 119/15 3:27 Central, U.S**


	3. The Training

**Arc One, Chapter 3: The Training**

"Here we are." The jounin announced. The team was in the forest, standing in front of some fairly tall trees. "You guys are to climb these trees."

"Huh? How?" Kaito asked.

"Like this," Sora sighed. He made the Rat seal and channeled his chakra to the bottom of his feet. He walked to the tree, put his foot on the trunk, and began walking vertically up the tree. His students gasped in awe. "First you need to focus a fixed amount of chakra to the bottom of your feet. If the stream of chakra is too weak, you'll lose your footing on the tree and fall off. If it is too strong, then you will be pushed away from the tree. The point of this exercise is to climb a tree without using one's hands. Don't try walking on it as I did, though, getting a running start is better for beginners." He jumped off of the tree, landing gracefully next to his students.

"Sensei," Aoi said, "Don't you think it will take some time to-"

"Me first!" Kaito screamed. He ran at the tree, not gathering chakra along the way. As he began walking up the tree, he slipped and fell.

"It requires _chakra_ to do this _chakra_ exercise, idiot. I'll be monitoring your progress. Well, not me," Sora made the clone hand seal, and a shadow clone appeared next to him, "I'll be at the next stage of the training. The first one to finish each exercise will get a prize." He smiled, and then disappeared.

Aoi sighed.

"So how will this go?"

Hayato had already begun. The genin had made the Rat hand seal and began gathering his chakra to the bottom of his feet. He ran, attached his foot to the trunk, and began climbing the tree vertically. Around his seventh step, he was suddenly repelled. He cursed and back flipped, landing soundly on the ground.

Kaito and Aoi began doing the same and gathered their chakra to the bottom of their feet. As Aoi continued to concentrate, Kaito began to try again. This time, he made it several steps, then slipped off. He twisted mid-air just before he landed roughly on the ground.

Aoi opened her eyes and ran at the tree. She quickly made it higher than her teammates did as she made it near a branch. She gasped, and slipped off the tree. She pulled out a kunai and threw it at the tree. _Thunk!_ She landed on the ground, wiping sweat from her forehead.

"Why'd you do that?" Kaito asked with an eyebrow raised.

"So I can know how far I got."

"Oh! Good idea!"

"Thanks." She smiled.

_This'll be hard_,' She thought, '_We_ _have to maintain the moulded chakra, otherwise we'll fall off, or get repelled. Hayato's chakra must be strong, and Kaito's light_.'

"Kaito!" Aoi called out, "Try adding a bit more chakra."

He rose an eyebrow in a silent question, but did as she told.

This time, when he ran up the tree, he had more success. He passed his three-step line, and continued to go higher. Hayato glanced at the white-haired ninja, and began storing his chakra again. He climbed again, passing his point also.

Aoi did as they did, and soon they were all racing up the trees, trying to reach the top before the other. Aoi finally reached a branched, and jumped on top of it. Kaito and Hayato were near her first mark, but couldn't get past it. She sighed. "I guess I'm going to get the prize, aren't I?" She taunted.

Kaito looked up at the kunoichi and smirked. "Not if I have anything to say about it!"

'_I wonder if he'll make it to my mark..._' Aoi pondered.

Suddenly she glanced at where Hayato was, and saw that he was past her, still climbing. She gasped and began climbing again. She could hear Sora chuckling from below. She wouldn't let Hayato beat her.

* * *

><p>Aoi had gotten used to climbing at such a rapid pace that Sora couldn't believe it. She was already catching up to Hayato, who had begun to slow down. Kaito was behind both of them, but he had finally beat Aoi's first mark: seventeen steps.<p>

Aoi and Hayato were going head-to-head as Kaito struggled to catch up with them. He slipped on his twenty-first step, marking it with a kunai, and had to start over again. Hayato got repelled at his twenty-seventh step, while Aoi kept going, nearing yet another branch. Sora was shocked at his students' progress. They all had an awfully large amount of chakra, so he expected that it would take at least three-to-four days for them to get to the forty mark. Without Aoi's tips, Kaito might still be below ten.

It was nighttime by the time Sora stopped them. Aoi was a prodigy at this, Sora remarked, and he decided that she would no doubt finish in two days.

The beaten and tired students went home, promising themselves that they would succeed tomorrow.

* * *

><p>"Woo-hoo!" Aoi screamed at the top of her tree, "I did it!"<p>

As Sora predicted, it took her two days.

Kaito glared at Hayato. "I'm not going to be last this time."

As the race between the two genins commenced, Sora called for Aoi.

She walked down the tree, and then walked happily to the jounin.

"I see you finished. Before you can continue, I need you to run it one last time."

Aoi frowned.

"Why, sensei?"

"Just to prove it wasn't a fluke. We could add a twist to it, but only if you think you're ready."

She rose an eyebrow. "What kind of twist?"

"I'm going to throw three shuriken at you randomly. You'll need to dodge them while still on the tree. How about that?" The tone of his voice told her that he wouldn't take no as an answer.

"Okay... I'll do it."

Sora brought out three shuriken from his holster.

"I'll tell you when to go. Try to sprint this time."

She nodded, getting into a running stance.

"Go!"

She dashed up the tree. Sora threw the first shuriken. It was so fast she barely had time to dodge it, and almost slipped off of the tree from the lack of concentration. The second shuriken was thrown at a greater speed. She smirked, and ran diagonally across the tree, getting out of view from Sora. He blinked before throwing a shuriken to the side of the tree. Suddenly another Sora appeared, grabbed the shuriken, and threw the projectile at her. Unsuspecting of the thrown shuriken, she kept going. She stopped abruptly and crouched close to the tree as the shuriken imbedded itself four centimeters above her head. She stood vertically on the tree.

"I won!" Aoi chirped.

The new clone disappeared from existence as Sora appeared to congratulate her.

"Congratulations! You're one step closer to becoming a great ninja. Now, the next training station is near-"

"Sensei," she interrupted, "Do you mind if I stay here and help them out?" She pointed at her teammates.

Sora stared at her.

"Are you serious?"

She nodded.

"Well, if that's what you want..."

"Thanks sensei!" She ran to help the others.

"You stayed?" Kaito wheezed incredulously.

"Yeah. I need some more training anyway."

"Wow. If it were me, I would have taken that chance. Ya know, just to see what the prize was?" He bent over with his hands on his knees as he tried to catch his breath.

"I'm not worried about that. I'm still going to beat you two." She stated boldly.

Hayato fell from the tree and landed next to them in a crouching position. He shakily got up, but fell onto his knee. Sweat dripped down from his face as he panted heavily. He punched the ground in frustration.

Aoi felt a pang of sympathy for the two boys. She barely broke a sweat, and yet these two were trying so hard to do this task.

She sighed.

"Guys, concentrate your chakra to your feet again."

Kaito tried, while Hayato stared at his tree.

"You too, Hayato."

He got up and stored chakra at his feet.

Aoi stared at the two ninja.

"That's why you guys are having so much trouble! You're in too much of a rush!" She observed. "Don't think of this as a race. This is all so we can get better. In fact, I won't even move on until both of you get it. Now, let's try something out."

. . .

As they calmed down, the chakra at their feet seemed more stable, and more started to flow. They raced up the trees simultaneously, and instead of falling down three steps above their previous marks, they reached the top. Hayato jumped down from the top.

"Where's Kaito?" Aoi asked.

He pointed up the tree Kaito had climbed, where said ninja sat stuck at the top.

"How are we going to get him down?"

Hayato let his right foot dangle behind him, then kicked the tree with such brute force she thought the tree might split. Seconds later Kaito fell roughly on the ground.

He got up wobbly. "I'm... Okay."

"Now that we've got it down," He continued, "How about we race a couple of times?"

Aoi and Hayato looked at each other, and they both nodded, a grin spreading across Aoi's face.

"Hehe. Last one there has to do fifty push-ups!"

. . .

"That's two hundred for Kaito, and fifty for both me and Hayato."

"Guys, I think I've done enough, don't you?" Kaito pleaded, his arms trembling in the push-up position.

"Seventy more, I believe." Aoi smiled, tilting her head to the side. "Get going, please."

"Adding 'please' doesn't make it any less cruel." Kaito deadpanned.

Sora's clone appeared next to them.

"Sorry guys, but it's time to go. Maybe tomorrow you'll get to the next part."

"Yes, sensei!" Aoi shook her head, and they followed Sora back to the vllage.

* * *

><p>The next day, they practiced vigorously to master the tree climbing technique.<p>

"Wanna play EJ?" Sora called to his students.

"What's that?" Kaito asked, perched on a branch upside-down like a monkey.

"Do you wanna play it?" Sora asked again.

"Sure!" Kaito said enthusiastically.

"His mind changed so quickly..." Aoi sweatdropped.

"What about you two?"

"Sure, sensei. Are you going to explain the rules?" Aoi asked.

The three genin ran down the tree and next to the sensei.

"Sure," He said, smiling, "Just stay on the tree." He made a hand seal, and four clones appeared beside him.

"I'll be trying to make you fall. After you each have passed, I believe you'll be ready for the next stage. You three up for it?"

They shook their heads yes.

"Alright then. I promise, it will be fun."

The three shivered instinctively as they walked to their trees.

"Go"

The genin ran up the tree.

* * *

><p>Apparently, the "EJ" in EJ meant "Extensive Jumping". Kaito learned that the hard way.<p>

Kaito had felt pretty sure that he was going to win. Overnight he had practiced his chakra control by walking on the walls of his room.

But what he hadn't practiced was jumping from wall to wall. He would regret that today.

Two clones came immediately at Kaito.

Kaito swung himself on the tree near him, avoiding two kicks. Kaito quickly scanned the area for the others; Aoi had two clones like Kaito, and handled them efficiently by using taijutsu to kick them off of her tree. Hayato had one, and used repelling to his advantage as the clone approached, making the clone's landing spot a trap. That gave Kaito an idea.

Kaito ran up his tree. A Sora appeared above him, falling towards Kaito, his elbow pointed in a attacking pose. As Kaito neared him, he purposefully slipped off the tree, back-flipping to the one behind him. Kaito's foot kicked his face on the way back, so Sora was falling to the ground as another one continued the assault.

. . .

Aoi twisted out of Sora's grasp and gracefully landed on a tree. Sora leaped towards her, his fist reared back in a punching position. She jumped, wrapped her arm around a branch, and flipped upwards, kicking Sora in the throat.

She took out a kunai, stabbed the tree, and yanked it out. The clone behind her yanked his arm out of the tree, a stab wound in the middle of his hand.

_Poof!_

Both clones were gone. After all, it wasn't part of the rules that you _couldn't_ kill them.

Aoi snickered and hid herself in the trees, watching the others.

. . .

Hayato had made it so if the teacher tried to give chase, he would crash into a shattered section of the tree. Sora crashed into the tree, his foot wedged between a huge crack in the wood. Hayato then quickly dispatched the clone, ending its life with a kunai to the back.

. . .

Kaito had gotten the hang of evading the clones' attacks, until they got serious, that is. One clone jumped at him, ramming both himself and Kaito into the tree. He then held on to Kaito as they both plunged toward the ground. As the ground neared, Kaito panicked, and, using the little foot-space provided, kicked off the tree behind him and spun wildly.

Sora only laughed and squeezed tighter. Kaito stretched his arm down hi back as far as it could go, grabbed a shuriken from his pouch, and slashed Sora's fingers. He then pushed off the clone, landing—dangerously near the ground—on a tree branch. The clone disappeared in a ball of puffy white smoke, ending the "game".

The original clone called down to the three, and they came down quite eagerly.

"Did we pass?"

"Yup," the jounin said, "And since all three of you passed, all three of you little shrimps get the special prize—after you finish the next exercise." And without another word, he turned and headed toward the next area.

* * *

><p>He walked up a tree and began leaping from branch to branch. His students could barely keep up. They reached an area with a wide river.<p>

The clone walked next to the real Sora.

"I see you all have mastered tree climbing," he said proudly, looking at their newfound bruises and cuts, "This is a big step to becoming a good ninja. Next, we'll learn the Water Walking Technique."

Chakra appeared at the bottom of his feet. He reached his foot out and gently touched the water's surface. Instead of falling, Kaito noticed, he placed the other foot on the water and began walking calmly on it. Sora's students stared at him with obvious awe.

"How can you do that, sensei?"

"Well, I think you all are a bit tired from using your chakra for the first exercise. How about we take a break?"

"But sensei..." Kaito whined.

"But Kaito..." The jounin counter-whined.

"I don't know about them," Aoi stated, glancing at the other two boys, "But _I_ have enough energy to keep going, sensei. Heck, I can beat them easily at any challenge."

At that, Hayato snickered to himself.

"Is that a challenge?" Kaito stared, giving her a look between a glare and a look of curiosity.

"It is if you take it as one."

"Well then, let's start this, shall we" He gestured to the water. "First, mold a constant amount of chakra to your feet. Constantly release the right amount into the water, and balance that amount to make your body float. Sounds easy enough, right? It's easy enough since you mastered tree-climbing. Good luck!"

. . .

In a matter of minutes they began getting used to it, and within hours they had mastered it. They went over to their sensei for their prizes.

"Ready for your prizes?" The jounin seemed eager, one hand behind his back and a smile plastered on his face.

The teamed nodded, Kaito barely keeping his excitement in.

"Here you are!" He handed them each a small, square sheet of paper. They looked at it blankly.

"What type of present is _this_? A lousy piece of paper?" Kaito yelled in outrage, a tic mark appearing on his forhead.

"Wait!" Sora stopped him before he ripped the paper, "This paper isn't any normal paper, it's _special._" He nodded. "These sheets of paper tell what chakra affinity you have. The pieces of paper are made from a special type of tree that is grown and fed with chakra, and are used to react to even the slightest hint of chakra in any of a number of ways, depending on the nature latent in the chakra. Your affinity makes it easier to learn how to create and control the nature you have. Go ahead, put some of your chakra in it."

Kaito let chakra accumulate into his fingers and onto the paper, and in a moment the water was wet and damp.

"What does this mean, sensei?" Kaito asked, whipping the paper around, trying to dry it.

"Ah, that means you have a water affinity!" He announced.

"Cool!" Kaito exclaimed, "That means I can control water, right?" He looked at the lake excitedly.

"Yes," he said quite nervously, "Yes it does."

"Watch me, sensei!" Aoi called. She put her chakra in the paper, and it turned to dirt and crumbled away. Aoi looked at her hand with an odd mix of horror and as if she were staring at something she had never seen before. "Does that mean that i will destroy everything i touch!?" She panicked.

"No, no," Sora assured her, "That just means that your affinty is earth. it has—"

"Sensei, look at Hayato's!" Kaito interrupted.

His paper was wrinkled.

"That means that your affinity is lightning."

"Lightning?" Kaito glared at him, "Keep your 'lightning' away from _my_ water."

"About that.."

And then he explained the cycle, how one element was both stronger and weaker than another. He dismissed his students, telling them that it was a good, long day.

Kaito came back after the other two left, shocking Sora.

"What now?" He said exasperatedly.

"Can you teach me a move I can use?" He pleaded.

Sora considered this.

"Here," he gave Kaito a coin with a picture of Sora smiling and winking inscribed on it, "This is a Sora-Coin. When I need something, you'll know."

"All I heard was 'Sure, I'll teach you!'"

Sora chuckled and brought Kaito near the lake.

Sora made three hand seals: Dragon, Tiger, Hare. A huge amount of water gushed out from his mouth like a waterfall, spraying water in the night air.

He taught Kaito the move, and when Kaito finally succeeded, his paled in comparison at how big Sora's was. But at the time, he didn't care. He had finally learned a ninja move, and he was sure it wouldn't be his last.

Tired, Kaito called it a day and finally turned to go home.

"Wait!" Sora called.

"Hm?" Kaito turned around.

Sora stared at the genin for a moment, and then he shook his head. "Just that we're going on our first C-rank mission tomorrow. Get some sleep, okay?"

"Sure?" He left, having an odd feeling like his sensei had probably left something out.


	4. The Ill-mannered Guests

**Arc One, Chapter 4: The Ill-mannered Guests**

Sora and his team had arrived for their first C-rank assignment. Aoi and Kaito were chatting amongst themselves quietly while Hayato idly spun his kunai in the air. Sora smirked at Hayato, noting how he didn't distance himself as far apart from his teammates as he did on the first day.

Sora walked to Naruto, expecting another wild "scene" occur because of the blond—when he realized that today Naruto was perfectly normal. Sora looked around for her;and the he spotted her, standing near Naruto with a clipboard in her hand, checking off things methodically. She had bright pink hair, glasses over her beautiful green eyes, and fair skin. She donned the Konohagakure jounin flak jacket, pants and some boots. She was a beauty, Sora remarked, almost as beautiful as he was handsome.

As if reading his thoughts, she glanced up in Sora's direction.

"Well," she said, "Are you just going to stand there, Mr. Prince?"

"Ah, and yet again you have yanked my breath away with your beauty," he knelt down on one knee, dramatically thrusting out his hand towards her and clutching his heart, "Oh, how my soul burns for—"

"Your group of genin are behind you." she reminded.

He turned towards them as they stared at him with exasperated expressions.

He sighed and got up.

"A cruel mistress, you are, Sakura. A cruel mistress indeed."

She smiled, but not at him, at the three genin that were coming up to the desk.

"I hear this is your first C-rank mission, isn't it?"

They nodded.

"I remember ours," she glanced at Naruto, and he smiled, scratching the back of his head.

Naruto grabbed the assignment from Sakura's hand.

"Oh, you guys are lucky! Your assignment is an escort mission. The clients are waiting at the village gates. You are to gaurd the Imada family. Bandits are loitered all around their path back to their village. You should expect some fighting." Naruto admitted, but then he looked at their expressions and quickly added, "But I'm sure you will be able to handle it."

"You heard him," Sora turned around, "Let's go!"

"Wait," Sakura said, and handed Sora a note. She then nodded, giving them permission to leave.

. . .

Kaito watched Sora from the corner of his eyes as they walked towards the village gate. When Sora read the note, something dark flashed across his eyes, but just as fast as it had came, it had left. Kaito could've sworn he had imagined it, but at the same time he was sure it was real.

As they neared the gate, they heard a loud clamor of voices and cheerful laughter. One man laughing wore a long-sleeved dark green shirt, matching pants, and a cotton tunic thrown over it. He had red hair and blue, sea eyes with tints of green. A boy who looked similar to the man sat under him, looking at the merchants with curiosity. One of the merchants was stroking the mane of one of the two horses who's reigns were connected to the carriage; both horses looked strong, both with smooth, brown skin and brown eyes.

A woman with long and luxurious, curly blond hair was talking to other women from the village, holding her hair in a demonstrative way. She wore a one-piece white cotton outfit, a black ribbon tied around her thin waist. They all wore brown sandals.

In a way, they all looked like shepherds, or peasants for that matter, but didn't _act_ like it. Kaito couldn't help but smile when there was another round of laughter; it was contagious!

"Hi," Sora greeted the man, "We are Team 11, and we will be escorting you to your village."

"Nice to meet you! I'm Mamoru Imada. This is my son, Michio, and my lovely wife," he gestured to the blond woman over to the side, "Rika."

"I'm Sora Hayabusa, a pleasure to meet you. This is Kaito Koizumi, Hayato Maki, and Aoi Suzuki." He pointed at each of them as he said their name.

"Nice to meet each of you." He grinned. Around this time, Aoi had been called over by the lady named Rika; she blushed as Rika talked to her, though Kaito could not hear what was being said. "We're about ready to go. See ya, guys!" He called to the merchants, and they waved happily as Mamoru went and sat on the elevated perch of the carriage, taking up the reigns. Michio went over and got his mother, Aoi coming along with them.

Rika came and spoke to Sora.

"Do you mind if Aoi sits with us?"

"Sure!"

Aoi looked from him to the woman, and then sighed, getting into the carriage with Rika and Michio.

"Everybody ready?" Mamoru turned, looking at Sora. Sora shook his head. "Let's go, then!" He commanded the horses to begin trotting towards their village.

. . .

"You really are a beautiful girl." Rika told Aoi.

Aoi didn't want to be in here. She wanted to be out there, walking, chatting with her teammates. But she could be patient; she would wait for anything suspicious to come along and use that as an excuse to get out.

"Thank you," Aoi blushed, "You're pretty too."

"Oh, thank you. You know, I bet you have a lot of admirers. I know I did at your age. But alas, it was Mamoru who stole my heart." she looked forward at the red-haired man chatting with Sora as he directed the horses. Rika suddenly looked back at Aoi. "Do you have anyone you like?"

Aoi blushed harder, and she shook her head.

'_How did we get on_ this _topic_? _As if my mother __doesn't ask enough_.'

"A shame. A girl with your looks could attract any male you wish. But that doesn't mean you won't spark any jealousy in any of the girls. Watch out, because if there's one thing that I'm sure of, it's that jealousy is a strong emotion."

Aoi pondered what she meant, but she decided to change the topic.

"How old is Michio?" Aoi pointed at the boy who quickly had fallen asleep as soon as he sat down.

"Oh him? He's eight, at the moment. Soon he'll be nine."

"How soon?"

"In about two months."

"Oh," Aoi looked at the boy in the corner of the carriage, his peaceful sleeping face making her smile.

. . .

Kaito stretched his arms out in a long yawn. It was a nice day. Not to hot, and not to cold, but just perfect. There was a soft summer breeze traveling throughout the forest. Sora and Mamoru were laughing and enjoying each other's company. Meanwhile, Kaito was stuck with Hayato, who seemed like he would prefer it stay quiet.

But Kaito wasn't the type of person to stay quiet.

"So," Kaito tried striking up a conversation, "How's life?"

Hayato rose an eyebrow.

'_At least he's willing to communicate_.' He thought gladly. Maybe this could work.

Before Kaito could speak again, Sora called him over.

"Yes, sensei?"

"Could you pick that purple rock up over there for me?"

Kaito would've declined, but he owed Sora for the lesson. He reluctantly walked over to the tree—and stopped. He felt something, but was unsure what is was.

"Nevermind, Kaito!" Sora waved the genin back to his side. He smiled and ruffled Kaito's hair before saying, "You felt them, didn't you?"

Sora had said it so lowly that it was below a whisper, and Kaito had wondered why he had said it so low. Maybe so they wouldn't hear him?

"Soon." He said in the same whispery voice, then dismissed Kaito back to his teammate.

. . .

They road soon broke into four separate roads. They took the one on the near left, Sora and the client still chatting happily, despite what Sora had told Kaito. Was he just playing?

As they continued down the path, the bushes rustled more often. When a loud sound came from a large bush, two deers came running out. Kaito sighed with relief. He had thought that it was an attack.

Then there was a blinding glare.

Sora jumped in front of the horses and deflected two throwing knives. Hayato threw his bag on the carriage and got in a defensive stance.

"Protect the left side. I've got the right." He glared at the bushes.

Kaito nodded and went around to the other side of the halted carriage. Kaito was about to call for Aoi when two men burst out from the bushes, smiling wickedly with a knife gripped loosely in their hands.

"We'll let you live if you give us everything you have."

Kaito swallowed, making a gulping sound. The two bandits wasn't scaring him, it was behind them that was; the creeping, hungry stares of more attackers, waiting for their chance to strike.

"No thanks. I doubt I'd get paid if I let you have _everything_. Maybe a...shuriken!" He threw three shuriken at the guy on the left, two sinking into his shoulder. He fell to his knee, yelling "Kill him!" through gritted teeth.

The other man, now furious, charged at Kaito like a wild animal. Just as the man was about to stab him, Kaito substituted his bag with himself. Kaito jumped from the carriage onto to the confused looking man, slamming his fist into his face. The man got up and backed up, groaning angrily and rubbing his jaw.

"Attack!" He bellowed in rage. Bandits swarmed the carriage. Kaito barely had time to process what was happening until they were all on him. When he threw three punches to one face, another one appeared. A hard kick to the chest, and another bandit took his place. Was there no end to this?

"Kaito!" Hayato yelled from the roof of the carriage. "Distract them!"

"Gotcha!" he yelled over the screams.

"Water Style," he made the Dragon, Tiger, and Hare hand seals, "Wild Water Waves!"

He held one hand near his mouth as water gushed out his mouth, spraying the thieves with a large amount of intense water. One after the other, all of the enemies in front of Kaito got washed away. When Kaito had stopped, all enemies on his side were knocked out. Kaito looked up.

"How was that?" A wide grin was plastered on his face.

Either Hayato hadn't heard him or he didn't acknowledge him, because as the bandits began climbing the carriage, trying to reach Hayato, he had finished doing whatever he was trying to do. He threw a large net-like contraption made from kunai and wire on top of the bandits. He touched a thin strand of wire connected to the net, and all enemies that were touching the net froze.

"Sora!" His voice sound strained as he called for the struggling jounin. More bandits than Kaito had on his side were trying to get the front, the horses Kaito assumed, and five Sora's were dealing with more than twenty bandits. Somehow, though, Sora managed to spare a clone. The clone took over the wire as Hayato took out the remaining active bandits. Kaito ran to the front, aiding the clones.

. . .

Mamoru had crawled through the blanket—which being used as a sort of curtain—and into the carriage as the battles commenced. He picked up a large piece of wood and gripped firmly as if it were a bat. Michio was still asleep, now held tightly near Rika as she flinched at any sound or noise. Then there was a loud thump on the left side, rocking the carriage. Voices mumbled on the outside, and silently Rika scooted herself and her son to the right. It wouldn't be long before they—And then a sound like a tree breaking sounded in the small space, light pouring in from the outside.

A man with stubble on his face and crooked teeth peeked in and smiled mischievously.

"What have we here?" He grinned.

Mamoru charged at the man, raising the wood to strike. As he brought the board down, he suddenly stopped, a blade pointed at his throat.

"Now, was that smart?" He chuckled to himself and bobbed his head, signaling another thief to come in the carriage. The new thief took his knife and held it at the red-head's throat as the other thief came near Rika.

"Ahh," his breath smelled like rotten trash, and booze. Definitely a lot of booze. "Are you his wife?" He tried to touch her face and she flinched back, almost waking her son.

"You don't have to be his, you know," he whispered, causing her to cringe. Mamoru held himself back with obvious effort. "You could come with us. Be ours. Be mine. Just say that you're not married to him. Three little words: I'm. Not. Married." He grabbed her face in his hairy, dirty hand.

She took a deep breath.

"I'm not married." Mamoru looked as if his heart had gotten smashed into a million of pieces before his eyes. "Because," Rika went on, her voice changing, "I'm not old enough to get married."

The bandit rose an eyebrow, but soon he was on the floor, in an armlock. She twisted his arm and he howled in pain. A cloud of smoke engulfed Rika, and Aoi appeared in her place, her glare scary enough to frighten a herd of angry bulls.

The other thief now used Mamoru as a hostage, his knife held closer to Mamoru's throat as he hid behind him.

"Make any more moves and he gets it!" His voice shook uncontrollably.

Aoi tilted her head, and suddenly she had thrown a kunai directly at the hand of the villian. He screamed, letting go of Mamoru, and Aoi was on him; she slammed his head against a wall, tied his arms behind his back, and kicked him out of the carriage.

Rika climbed back to the rest of them from the back of the carriage, where their bags and boxes of clothes were. Mamoru ran and hugged her, as she did him. When he released her from their embrace, he looked at the guy on the ground.

"What about him." His voice was full of contained anger, and a hint of disgust.

"Don't worry, he passed out from all of the pain. What a wimp." She grabbed him by the collar and hurled him out of the van.

"I'm staying in here with you guys, so don't worry," she winked, "I won't let any harm come to any of you."

. . .

Sora observed Hayato as he took out the bandits that weren't in the trap. Though he knew Hayato was a great Shinobi, he didn't know he could do all of _this_. The jounin had left his clones, and now Kaito, to fight the many thieves. Even Sora had to admit, this wasn't what he was expecting. Sora flinched when he saw Hayato get cut on then arm. As he hesitated, they seemed to pounce on the genin. Then Kaito was there, knocking the muggers out, trying to get to his friend. Sora wanted so badly to help his students, but putting chakra in this net and his clones had him busy. He'd just have to wait until his clones were done fighting.

. . .

Kaito had finally reached Hayato in the mass of bodies and pulled him out; he had fresh bruises and new cuts along his body, but still didn't seem to be completely in it. Kaito drew him behind him and got into a defensive stance. There were, at least, six more stubborn bandits that wouldn't give up.

A figure fell from the sky, landing on top of one of them with a nasty _crunch_. He sweep kicked the one in front of him, and roundhouse kicked the two who tried to attack him. The other two fled as the jounin threw the four into the net.

"Sora! What took so long?"

"You try fighting twenty-six bandits while protecting two large horses. It sounds like taking candy from a baby, right? Well that baby has a nasty mom."

"Anyway, is that all of them?"

"Yes. Now all we've got is those two." He pointed at the two who ran. He threw eight kunai and turned the other way, four kunai landing in each of the men. Two clones went to go retrieve them.

"Now we have quite the lot of people to investigate." He glared at he men in the net.

As the two clones threw the two men into the net, the crackle of lightning burst in the air. A large bolt of lightning rained down from the sky, and onto the men; the light when it came down blinded Kaito's view, and only expanded when it came into contact with the net. He shielded his eyes from the light, and saw something move in the bolt. He was about to scream at it, but then it was gone, only a bunch of singed, unconscious bandits left in its wake.

"Is everyone alright?" Sora checked on everyone, and once they were confirmed unharmed, he went on.

"We have less bandits than before." Sora looked around cautiously, "And they shouldn't have been able to move."

"I saw them move," Kaito shook his head, "They must've escaped."

The wire that made the net was gone, only a black ground with unsigned lines to tell that it had once been there.

"Yeah," he shook his head, "They're working with someone, but we won't be able to find out who. We've got to keep going. And besides," he glanced at the bandits, "We won't be able to question them now, anyway. They'll be unconscious for a long while."

* * *

><p>Aoi had gone outside so Hayato could rest, and Sora had taken the reigns so Mamoru could stay with his family. There hadn't been any other attacks, but that didn't stop them from having their guard up. The air seemed dryer, maybe even humid. There were less grass and trees, and secretly Aoi was grateful; she didn't want to fight any more thieves, especially with Hayato in that condition. He had lost a fair amount of chakra, and needed that time to rest.<p>

"I heard you protected Hayato." Aoi smirked.

"No!" He denied quickly, "He just... hid behind me. Yeah, because who wouldn't? I am _me _after all."

"Hmm... I think that's an excuse—"

"Look, we're here!" He pointed at the village rising into view.

"Welcome, everyone," Sora announced comically, "To the Land of Coal!"


	5. Where Lies Emptiness, Lies a Soul

**Arc One, Chapter 5: Where Lies Emptiness, Lies a Soul**

"What's that light over there?" Kaito peered down the streets to see tongues of red and orange flicker in the distance.

"That is the Burning Hearth, the Land of Coal's signature flame. 'The hearth of many flames may differ, but the comfort they bring makes all the same.'" Mamoru told them as they walked to his house. They had put the horse and carriage back at the rental and proceeded to Mamoru's house. Michio ran off with some other kids soon after, and at the moment they were just enjoying the scene on the way to the house. Sora had taken Hayato to the town hospital, and said he would come back for him later.

"That's sweet," Aoi smiled, "The town is _very_ lovely."

Kids of all ages were running around happily, playing games such as tag or hide-and-seek. Adults came from where the fire was located, holding recently lit torches. As Kaito watched, a couple placed their torch on the sconce that hung over their doorway.

"Here's our house. Just put our luggage on the couch." Mamoru opened the door, and the ninja practically ran in, throwing the baggage on the furniture. The house was huge: there were large two bedrooms on the right, a bathroom in-between them, a living room in front, and a small kitchen to the left. There were stairs that led to upstairs on the far left corner, but Kaito didn't want to explore the house just yet. He was slumped against the couch, rubbing the soft, burgundy rug with the back of his hand. "There are three extra rooms upstairs. There's a small fridge and bathroom up there, just so you won't have to travel from here and there for simple trips."

"Too bad our mis-"

"Hey Kaito, can you bring our bags upstairs? Aoi, I'm sure you know the room order." Sora interrupted.

"I can take a good guess." she confirmed.

"Thank you."

Kaito rose an eyebrow, but Sora had already shoved their bags into the genin's hands and directed him to the stairs. With a quick glare, Kaito went up the creaky stairs and onto the second floor. It was warmer up there, and as Rika had told them, there were three separate rooms, each of the same size, on the left. There was another living room area on the right side, and a bathroom farther ahead.

"I think even you know what the rooms are." Aoi smiled.

"'I can take a good guess.'" Kaito mimicked.

"Oh, shush, you."

They put Aoi's things in one room, Sora's in another, and both Hayato and Kaito's things in the last one. When they went back downstairs, Sora and Mamoru were gone and Rika was busy unpacking the family's clothes.

"Where's Sora?"

"He went to go get your little friend. Mamoru went out to fish, and when he comes home, Michio will probably be with him. They usually come home together." Rika smiled.

"Oh, okay. Do you need anything else to be done?"

"No, not really. I do this to keep myself busy until the other women in the village are done with their chores. Then we all meet at one of my neighbor's house. Do you want to come, Aoi? No offense Kaito, but you might get bored."

"None taken!" He grinned widely.

"Um, no thanks. Me and Kaito were thinking of sparring today." Aoi chuckled nervously. "Come on Kaito, let's get to it!"

Kaito opened his mouth to object, but she quickly grabbed him and dragged him out the door. As soon as she closed it Kaito started laughing.

"Is it _that_ bad?"

"You don't even know." She sighed.

"So do you really want to spar?"

"Not really. I just wanted to get out of there. We could go check on Hayato."

"If you want to." Kaito said

"Since you want to, we can go." She started walking.

"Because i want-I don't want to!" he yelled after her.

. . .

After asking at least three people, they finally found their way to the town's hospital—Or at least what they called it anyway. It was more of a shack that had multiple beds with white sheets hung clumsily between them. A woman directed them to their friend, and Sora was nowhere to be found.

"Hey Hayato!" Kaito greeted.

The black-haired genin looked up at them in surprise. He had a cleaner pair of clothes on, but still had bandages all around his body, hiding the cuts and bruises from battle. He sat up and leaned on his pillow, waving at them almost sheepishly.

"How are you doing?" Aoi sat on the edge of his bed; he didn't try to move over, so Aoi stayed, bouncing lightly on it.

He shrugged, almost if to say 'Same as usual'.

In the corner of Aoi's eye, she saw Kaito shove a water bottle into his pocket. She'd get on him later about that.

"Have you seen Sora?" She continued. It was kind of weird talking to him like this. She was used to him not talking, but just looking at him and seeing how big he was—and he was tall. He had quite the few of muscles, and was taller than Aoi by a little over an inch—made her think of how he could be the badass goth sort, who would always do what he wanted regardless of what others wanted of him. He did have the black down, and the spiky hair. All that was left was the rude attitude and piercings.

He shook his head no.

"What could be taking him so long?"

As if on cue, Sora walked to their room.

"Oh," he said, surprised, "What are you two doing here?"

"Checking on Hayato." Aoi said, at precisely the same time Kaito said "Getting her away from Rika." Aoi shot a glare at Kaito while Sora cleared his throat.

"Either way, the nurse says Hayato can leave when he's ready. The injuries weren't bad, but she does suggest some proper rest when you get home. And here," Sora gave him a coin, but instead of the winking face, it had him with a stern, serious look on the coin, "Sorry for letting that happen to you. If you ever get in trouble again, use that Sora-Cent. I'll appear to your aid, regardless of where I am. Just crush it to use it."

Hayato threw his legs over the bed and stuffed the coin in his pocket. He put his sandals on and walked up and out of the room.

"Gee, you're welcome." Sora sweatdropped.

Sora soon took the lead, and they followed him back to their temporary home.

. . .

On the way to the house, Kaito spotted a familiar red-headed boy with the dark brown eyes of his mother.

"There's Michio!" Kaito pointed. The boy had an impish grin as he ran around, slapping every kid he could as they froze in place. Freeze tag, Kaito assumed.

"That little squirt sure can sleep." Sora nodded.

"A gift." Aoi agreed.

One of the kids tripped and fell down. A loud moan came from his direction, and the small child rolled over to reveal that he had scraped his knee. Tears ran down his face in streams as a woman, probably his mother, picked him up and bounced him in her arms.

"This is a nice village." Kaito said. The others nodded their heads in agreement and continued down the path to the house.

. . .

"I'm heading out, then. Have fun!" Rika had said when they had arrived. Kaito had gone upstairs and went straight to sleep. Hayato and Sora were presently in a heated battle of Shogi.

"Sensei," Aoi called Sora, "Why did you stop Kaito earlier? Isn't our mission _really_ done?"

"Well," he moved a piece, "Our job isn't _really_ done."

"Wasn't it to escort them here?"

"That was part of it. The bandits will likely strike again, but I doubt it will be soon. There were so many last time that they'll need some time to recover. That bolt was too perfectly timed to be confused for chance. Some of them, the ones who had gotten away, must have been former Shinobi. We had a couple strokes of luck, too."

Hayato was staring at the board for a long time before he had made a move, Sora making an exasperated face when it was finally his turn. "Finally," he muttered.

"What do you mean, luck?" Aoi stretched out on her stomach, leaning on her elbows to prop herself up. She kicked her feet in the air idly.

"Well, if Kaito hadn't have learned that move, the bandits could've had us overwhelmed. He got rid of quite the lot of them. And you. You also saved our clients from becoming possible hostages. You didn't even want to get in, if I remember correctly."

"W-what? I have no recollection of what you're talking about." She stammered.

"And if Hayato didn't made that makeshift net," Sora cast Aoi a suspicious look, "The bandits would've continued to attack and make their way into the carriage, overwhelming you four who were in it. We would have had to try and save the hostages, and even then there's no telling if they could have gotten away with one of you. So, as I had said, we were lucky. Ah, I won! Excuse me as I go get something to drink."

Hayato stared after Sora with an annoyed expression.

Aoi sighed and rolled over, her back relaxing to the cool touch of the carpet. Hayato had looked at her with a curious look.

_Bored_, she mouthed. He shook his head minutely before Sora came back in.

"There are some fireworks going off outside, if you want to see them." Sora pointed behind him, towards the window. It looked like he hadn't found anything to drink.

"What about Kaito?" Aoi sat up.

"Already awake." The genin had come in, glaring instantly at the jounin, who smiled innocently as Kaito thrust a finger at him. "He woke me up by splashing water on me!"

"Why, I did no such thing!" Sora faked a look of hurt.

"The stain is right here!" He gestured at a huge wet spot on the front of his shirt, and then to his wet face and hair.

"You probably just slept on the roof." Sora waved it off.

"The—what sense does that—I GIVE UP!" Kaito stomped back into his room.

Aoi giggled to herself quietly.

"You two ready?" Sora smiled.

"Yes sensei!"

. . .

Apparently Kaito had gone back inside of his room to change clothes. He ran down the stairs just as they had opened the door. After Sora locked the door with an extra key, they went to the town's signature bonfire.

Did Kaito say the fire was huge? No, skip that, the fire was _humongous_, taking up a good third of the center of the town. People were always throwing coal into the fire, laughing happily as it went to the bottom and sizzled away. There were ropes that surrounded the giant flame, two feet in front of it. Even of you were had horrible aim, Kaito thought, you could make the shot. The fire danced in the night, fireworks littered a distance around it. The genin had squeezed their way near the front, leaving their sensei behind.

"Ready!" A man's voice roared over the crowd's murmurs. The crowd screamed with excitement as men began lighting the fireworks. Kaito watched in awe as the first one sailed into the air; it burst, a clear lime green illuminating the dark sky. Then more joined in like a choir, brightening the sky in a flurry of colors. There was only one word that came to mind that could describe its beauty: Alluring.

"Ooh"s and "Ahh"s went around the crowd in waves. Kaito couldn't tear his eyes away from it, nor would he like to. He wished everyday would be like this, but at the same time, was glad it wasn't. There were those special times in life that you cherish forever, and Kaito had to admit that this was one of those times. Not just the view, but his friends with him also made him smile at the fantastic sight.

* * *

><p>"EEEEEEEEKKK!" A girlish shriek had went off in the house. Kaito, startled, had rolled out of his bed and crashed onto the floor. Hayato had been much faster, already dashing out the room towards the scream. Kaito ran clumsily behind, kicking off his bed sheets impatiently.<p>

"Ow ow ow ow!" Michio complained. Aoi was pinching his ear very roughly.

"What happened in here?" Sora demanded.

"This little elf decided surprising me while I was asleep would be funny" she glared at him as he grinned wickedly.

"Ow ow _ouch_!" He yelled as Aoi added more pressure. "Let me go you wicked witch!"

"No thanks, fire-ant." Aoi retorted.

"Is everything okay?" Mamoru was upstairs now, startled and confused. He looked at his son and sighed. "Michio, apologize."

"Sorry." He said quickly, as if he feared him.

Kaito looked from the child to his father.

How could such a nice man be scary?

"Michio," Rika called from behind Mamoru, "Are you giving our guests trouble?"

"No ma'am!" He said, then hastily ran past her, still running going down the stairs. _Now_ it made sense.

"I'm sorry. I'll handle Michio. Breakfest is ready downstairs." As soon as she turned around, the sweetness and kindness of her voice had left when she yelled "Michio!" at the top of her lungs.

. . .

Sora liked being the only one in a blue full-body suit. Not only did he feel comfortable, but he was the only one who looked stylish in it. Aoi had white pajamas with pink flower designs on them, Kaito wore a white t-shirt with what looked like were swimming trunks, and Hayato donned a black shirt with baggy black pants. Rika had made toast, a plate of bacon, eggs, and left out a gallon of orange juice for them. Everything was delicious, but Sora was occupied with wondering what they would do today. Then the door rang.

"I'll get that!" Sora got up and walked to the door. He opened it to see three kids staring up at him.

"Can Michio come out with us?" One of them asked.

"Sorry," Rika said, suddenly next to Sora, "Michio's in trouble for the time being."

"Awww," another pouted, "But we're going to the loop house!"

Rika paused, and after a moment she seemed frozen. "No," she reaffirmed, "He can't go. Maybe another day." Just as she was about to close the door, Kaito sped into the doorway.

"Can I come?" He asked the kids.

"Kaito!"

"What?" He looked at his sensei, "It's not like we're doing anything here."

"Sure! Just follow us!" A kid told him.

"I'll be out in a minute."

. . .

"Here it is!" A kid told them. Aoi and Hayato came along while Sora stayed back. It hadn't taken as long as Kaito had expected to clean himself up and change, so they would have left well around twenty minutes later—Until the other two genin decided they wanted to come.

The building was huge, and looked abandoned. Kaito thought the building was black, once, until the paint either faded or peeled off, turning it into a dull, dirty gray. The windows were dirty in all aspects, and the front door was cracked open, splinters of wood sticking out where the lock would've been. The door knob was still there—was there glue on the side of it?—and the porch looked stable.

"And you kids have done this how many times?" Aoi stared at the building with distaste, clearly against going inside.

"Three. We keep trying to get past the basement."

"Why not just go on the first floor first?" Kaito asked.

"The door is locked. And it's really tight. For some reason, we can't seem to break through. We even tried using a bat!"

"Not even a dent." Another kid agreed.

"We'll fix that!" Kaito grinned, scratching his nose with his thumb. He walked up to the door and opened it; almost instantly the smell from it roundhouse kicked him.

"Oh, goodness." Aoi pinched her nose. Hayato pulled his shirt over his nose, and Kaito threw his arm around his.

"Oh yeah! The back of the door stinks. Forgot to tell you that."

"Nice." Kaito muttered, and walked into the house.

. . .

There were seven steps leading up to a spotless door with spiderwebs along the top of it. As more sunlight came in, the door was revealed to be the same scarlet color as blood.

Hayato walked up to the door and lightly touched it with the tips of his fingers. He them turned around and shook his head no.

"Are you kidding me?" Kaito snapped, "You didn't even _try_ to open that!"

Hayato only shook his head again, and began walking down the stairs to another flight of stairs going down.

"Come on," Aoi said, lightly pushing him to follow. The kids giggled with excitement as they raced down the stairs. Kaito sighed and reluctantly followed. The light from the doorway seemed farther and farther away as they descended into the dark, seemingly barren room. It was chilly, and very little light seeped through the tiny slits they called windows.

"What's this?" Aoi said somewhere in the dark.

"I'm sorry, I can't hear you. It's too dark in here."

"Oh, well—WHAT DOES THAT HAVE TO DO WITH YOUR HEARING?"

A few snickers went around the group as Aoi sighed and regained her composure.

"There's some picture here." She paused for a moment, and then yelled, "Got it!"

A clap went off in the dark, and suddenly the room was illuminated by small, newly lit torches scattered on the walls. Now that Kaito could see the room, he saw that chairs had been thrown all around the room. A table was split in two, and shattered pieces pottery were littered across the ground.

"What happened here? And what did you do?" A kid asked.

"Well, there's this," she pointed at a framed picture, "And I saw it was sticking out a little. I moved it, and found a switch. When I flipped it, this happened. Nothing I can't solve." She flipped her hair around her shoulder in a sassy manner.

"As for this scene," she continued, "I can't really say."

They went across the room that led to an open door. As the others went through it, Aoi stopped.

"Guys, I just remembered—"

"Don't chicken out." Kaito shook his head.

"It has to do with training."

"Sorry kids, our adventure has been cut short." Kaito shrugged.

"Awww. Tomorrow?" They pleaded.

"Sure."

"Yay!" They ran up the stairs happily.

. . .

"Why couldn't they come along" Kaito whispered. It was dark at night and they had snuck back inside the house, telling Sora and their clients they left something.

"I told you ten times already!"

"Well enlighten me again, then."

She sighed. "There was a genjutsu placed on that doorway. That's why it is called the loop house; the technique causes you to arrive in the same location," After closing the door and making sure it was firmly shut, they continued down the stairs, raising their voices as they reached the basement, "So if we get rid of that genjutsu..."

She walked up to the doorway and clapped her hands together. "Release!" She yelled. The door shimmered, and suddenly it turned into another stairway, going upstairs instead of down.

"Nice job, detective Aoi."

"Thanks." Before she took a step, Hayato stopped her, walking in front of her.

"Hmph!" She pouted.

"Guess I'm taking the rear..." Kaito mumbled as they made their way up the stairs.

A voice pierced the still air. Though it was faint, it was loud enough to hear. Hayato looked back and rose a finger to his lips, and then continued to creep up the stairs. When they reached the first floor, the voice was loud enough to be confirmed it was above them. Aoi didn't try to look for any switches, and Kaito didn't blame her; this was beginning to turn into more of a haunted tale than a fun trip. The melodic tune of voice changed in Kaito's ears, and he realized that it was singing.

Going up another flight of stairs, they finally reached the floor the person was on. After narrowing down which one the singing was coming from, Hayato approached the door cautiously. Kaito had gotten on his right, Aoi on his left, as he prepared to open the door. As quietly as he could, he turned the knob and pushed the door lightly.

A girl sat on a chair near the window, the moonlight spilling over her blonde hair and white gown. She almost looked like a ghost that was doomed to haunt this place, forever. Her face was turned, so they waited for what seemed like an eternity for her to notice them. She continued singing for a bit until she finally realized the door was open, and turned; fresh tears were running down her cheeks as she ended her song.

* * *

><p><em>I had LOTS of fun making this chapter. Feel free to guess who the girl is in the reviews. Until next time!<em>


	6. Mindshattering

**Arc One, Chapter ****6: Mindshattering**

The blonde watched the crouching ninjas for a moment, as if they were a new species of some sort. She wiped her tears off of her face.

"Another one. Typical." She said bitterly, balling her fist up on the dress.

The three stared speechless. This was _definitely_ not expected.

"Who are you?" Aoi was the bravest of them all, speaking first.

The girl snapped her head towards them. She leaped out of the chair, standing upright.

The ninja backed up a little. The girl was older than them, but not old enough to be considered past teenage years. She looked at them with an odd mix of horror and confusion. She suddenly grabbed the top of the chair, and slung the furniture at them. Kaito and Aoi rolled to the sides of the room while Hayato backed out of the chair's way.

Shocked, she quickly backed into the window. Tears came again, running down her face. She gasped, covering her mouth with her shaking hand.

"Real people," her voice was barely above a whisper. She silently slid to her knees, her hands covering her face. The girl quietly bawled into her palms; the sound of her rushed sniffles made Kaito feel a pang of sympathy for the stranger. Hayato had finally come back in, cautiously of course, and the two boys regrouped near Aoi.

"What's happening?" Kaito asked his teammates as quietly as he could.

"My guess is as good as yours." Aoi replied.

The person got up, once again wiping her tears.

"Who are you?" Aoi repeated, standing straight. The others, following her lead, did the same.

"It's been so long since someone has asked that of me." she sniffed, shaking her head. She was still wiping her eyes when she muttered something.

"I'm sorry, I didn't catch that."

"My name is Mariko." She said a little louder.

"I'm Aoi. These are my friends Kaito and Hayato. Do you mind telling us why you are here? Or how you got here?" She said it calmly, as if not to scare her.

"Well, that one I can surely remember," she looked up and Kaito's eyes widened; something about her was familiar. The thing was just screaming at him to notice it, but he couldn't seem to put it together. "I am here because I am cursed."

Aoi looked at her confusedly, so Kaito continued the interrogation.

"What do you mean by 'cursed'?"

"That is a good question. I myself do not know how I got cursed, or to how extreme the extent it is. All I know is that I cause misfortune to all who surround me."

"That can't possibly be-"

"It _is_." She tried to keep her composure as she said it, but Kaito saw her mouth thin as she said the words. "I see things—things that I didn't know at first were the future." No longer were her hands held together in front of her; they were balled up into fists at her sides now.

"No one can see the future." Aoi corrected.

"I beg to differ. I would foresee bad things happening one day, and they would happen next week. When I tried warning the villagers, they thought it was some joke. I wouldn't blame them, either. A girl starting to say she could see the future? It sounds like something a fool would do for attention." She started pacing the room back and forth, her voice remaining calm with a hint of sadness, though it was obvious she were stressed. "Then when things I predicted started coming true, they started to fear me. Again, I can't blame them. I myself would probably do the same if it were any of them. The people I would once call my friends began talking behind my back.

"Soon my family were the only ones I could trust. Even then, I couldn't escape, for they would treat my family badly. So when I heard that they were going to start a riot, I decided to go away. I locked myself in an abandoned house, leaving my family a note. It was only when I ran out of food that I noticed I couldn't find the staircase anymore. Nor could anyone hear me when I screamed for help. At first I thought they simply ignored me, but I soon realized the couldn't even hear me, _nor_ could they see me. The visions only got worse, here. They were so real that even when I were awake they would occur, scaring me out of my right mind when it first happened. I couldn't even escape them in my sleep. There were some peaceful days, where I awaited yet another vision. I don't know what kept me sane, for all this time," she admitted, "It might very well be those simple days." She sighed and stared out the window.

"Of late," she continued, "I had given up all hope, until kids started coming around, trying to get in the house. I would sing, hoping one of the kids would hear my tune and alert their parents for help. None did, apparently. Until you three ninja came." She turned.

The three were left speechless.

"How did you survive? No food, no water?"

"In fact, whenever I got hungry, food would be on the table out there. I assumed it was part of my curse, never being able to die. I sometimes got so hungry that the food's tempt would be too much. Now I realize that someone must have been able to come in. I just thought of that person of a guardian angel of sorts. I guess you really don't tend to think about where it's from when you're starving. Just glad that it's there."

"If they could come in, why didn't they wake you up? Or let you free? No, I don't think someone could come in. I think someone is _already _in. And they're just living with you. It would make sense, seeing as there was a genjutsu trap set upon the place. Unless you're lying," Aoi added, eyeing her suspiciously, "You could just be a great actress and fooled us all, waiting for a ninja, or ninjas, to come. But why would you do that?"

"I'm not lying. Please, you have to believe me." She began pleading suddenly, her eyes wide and begging.

Aoi stared at her for a moment. She then shook her head, "I can't—"

"Well I can," Kaito interrupted, already knowing what she was about to say.

"What?" Aoi was shocked, "What reason do we possibly have to believe her? She attacked us when we first got in here, remember?"

The blonde flinched and looked down at that.

"Yeah, well..."

"Don't even bother. We're leaving. If she _really _wants to get out of here, she'll find a way. Either you stop faking all of this, or you find that guy. Regardless, we can't help you. I'm sorry." With that, Aoi dragged Kaito and Hayato out of the house, closing the door after her. They spoke when they snuck back in the house; it had taken them quite longer than they had expected, so now it was the middle of the night. Luckily Kaito had left his window unlocked, though Aoi still scolded him about it.

"That was _completely_ reckless!" She whispered/screamed.

"Which one? Trusting the innocent girl or leaving a window unlocked?" He matched her whispered voice.

"Both!"

"Is everything I do wrong then, Ms. Perfect? Is trusting people wrong?"

"She was lying! She gave us no proof whatsoever! And what if the bandits came while these guys were sleeping? They would've robbed them blind, or worse!"

"How do you know she was lying? Do _you_ have any proof?"_  
><em>

"No, but—"

"That's all I needed to hear. Goodnight Ms. Know-it-all!" He snapped, ending the conversation and storming into his room.

"Ugh, Kaito. You can be so.. UGH!" She slammed her door and buried her face into the pillows.

* * *

><p>"Where were you three last night?" Sora asked at breakfast.<p>

"Kaito forgot something, so we had to go back." Aoi shot a look at the snow-haired Shinobi.

"Yeah, well Aoi thought she knew everything, so we got lost on the way there and back. Blame her for us not finding out where to go."

"We, _again_, had no directions, thus I couldn't very well lead us to the path a stranger told us."

"If we had trusted the stranger," Kaito's voice rose, "We could've easily had found out the the suggested path was reliable."

"Oh, well sor-ry that I use reason for my decisions, unlike _someone_ apparently! I'm done with my breakfast." She stood up abruptly and went up the stairs._  
><em>

Kaito mumbled little impolite things to himself.

Sora turned to Hayato.

"All this over directions?" He asked incredulously.

Hayato shrugged and continued eating.

. . .

"Sora, I'm going out for some fresh air." Kaito had said, and left to go back to the building. He probably knew sooner or later his team would follow, but at the moment he didn't care; he was frustrated at Aoi for being so heartless, and wanted to prove her wrong.

It had been his second day visiting Mariko alone. The house was pretty empty, other than small things like toothpaste and a toothbrush in the bathroom, a polished wooden round table in the kitchen with a golden chandelier over it. In fact, the only thing in Mariko's room was a bed, a window, and a closet. Everything else in the room was bare.

"Mariko?" Kaito crept into the room.

The girl turned and beamed brightly.

"Hello! Are your friends here?" She sat up on her bed, smiling a bright grin. She wore a red shirt with streaks of yellow and a matching skirt. She was barefoot, Kaito noticed oddly, and didn't hesitate to touch the cold floor.

"Nope. Only me."

"Oh, well that's okay. How's your day been?"

"Bad." Kaito looked down.

"Because you got into that fight with your girlfriend because of me?"

Kaito blinked.

"Girlfriend? Who?"

"That girl who introduced you and your friend. Aoi was her name?"

"Wh-what? _Gross_! Not her. Anyone but _her_!"

"I'm sorry," she chuckled, "You two just seemed like one. It was just an assumption."

"Yeah, wanna know what my sensei said about most 'assumptions'? They make an 'ass' out of 'u' and 'me'."

"Isn't that when you 'assume'?"

"Ah...Uh...Whatever!"

Mariko smiled and started laughing.

"It's been a while since I've laughed like this." She wiped tears from her eyes.

"It must not take a lot."

"I guess not," she admitted, "But I'm just honestly glad to have a nice chat. What brings you and your friends to this village?"

"Well, you know," Kaito began flexing, "Just doing my ninja thing, saving the world from catastrophes and all that."

Mariko covered her mouth to contain her stifled laugher.

"Oh really?" She smiled at him.

"Yup," he made another flexing pose. The poor ninja didn't know he had nothing to show off. "In fact, when they asked the Hokage himself for the best ninja they had, he instantly thought of me. He was just forced to put me in a group with them. I'm the real star of the show." he grinned.

"Oh, I believe it." she sighed. She then looked over at the window. "You know I'm stuck on this floor, right? Even if I wanted to look for the person, I can't. But that's okay now; I finally have company," she turned back at Kaito with a sincere smile, "Even if he's the top, scariest ninja."

"Yup!" He stuck a thumb out, "With me here, all evil-doers will scream like a little girl and pee their pants, because I am Kaito, the best ninja of man!'

She stared at him for a moment.

"Did you make that up on the spot?" She asked curiously.

"What? No applause?"

She laughed and began clapping. "Bravo, then, bravo!"

Then and there, Kaito promised he'd visit her every day until they had to leave. And even sooner would he find the person responsible for keeping her in here.

. . .

"Where's Kaito?" Aoi looked around. Sora and Hayato were yet again playing Shogi in the jounin's room.

"Ah, looks like Lockful Beauty has finally come out of her castle. Tell me, did the sunlight burn, or scorch you when you come out?"

"Shut up!" She threw her pillow at him.

He let the fabric hit his face and shook it off.

"If you must know, he said that-"

"Back!" Kaito came upstairs.

"-he'd be back soon." Sora finished, shaking his head. "Can a man finish a sentence around here?"

"Kaito," Aoi said, ignoring Sora, "I'm sorry that I didn't follow those... Directions. It's just that I couldn't trust a stranger whom we've never met before."

"You can cut the act," Sora cut in, lying down near the board, "Hayato already told me where you were last night. I'm very disappointed in you all."

Kaito and Aoi glared at their teammate.

"Oh, don't blame him. I beat it out of him. In Shogi. In fact, this game was meant for me to keep it to myself if he won. But guess who didn't?" He pointed at Hayato.

"Ugh. Well, we're busted," Kaito came clean reluctantly, "So what now?"

"Nothing. I understand that you three agreed not to go there anymore, so I don't have anything to say. Except that you're not getting any reward when this mission is done."

"What!?" Aoi screamed. Kaito nearly fainted.

"But we _earned_ this–"

"Shoulda thought of that before you went somewhere you shouldn't have been. As soon as you realized there was a genjutsu on the place, you should've came to me. That's that, and don't try to fight it." He finalized.

* * *

><p>"And that's what happened." Kaito had told Mariko everything. He had brought her a new chair to sit in, along with a rocking chair for him. They both could fit in the closet, so when Kaito was gone, she would just put it away.<p>

"Oh dear. Is it all because of me?"

"No, no. It's our fault." He assured her. Sora had a good point, Kaito admitted; they could've encountered a horde of bandits in the house. No way could they have escaped that. "We should've just told Sora about it in the first place. Well, really Aoi should have, but we're not pointing fingers."

"Either way, I'm sorry I'm bringing trouble to your group. What made you believe me, anyway?" She suddenly asked. She said it care-freely, but Kaito saw in her eyes that she wanted an honest answer.

"Well," he scratched the back of his head, "I just, could tell, ya know? 'No one could have faked that', I thought. Doesn't it make sense?" He looked at her.

She considered this.

"I don't know. If it makes sense to you, then I guess it makes sense to me. I'll believe you, just like you believed me." She nodded.

He nodded back, smiling to himself. "Thanks Mariko-chan."

She stared at the window. "No problem, Kaito-san."

. . .

Kaito had decided to sneak back in the place at night, while everyone was asleep, just to check on his friend. He snuck up the stairs ever so quietly, the urge to scare Mariko taking control over him.

Little did Kaito know, that he would be in for a fright that night.

He tiptoed up the stairs and could already hear the creaking of a rocking chair. How dare she use his chair! He was thinking of using it to scare her, so now he would have to improvise.

Over the past three-to-four days, they had grown somewhat close. She taught him how to play cards, and in return Kaito got her favorite desert: Chocolate. They laughed and joked together, and Kaito almost let out a snicker as he remembered one of their jokes. He finally reached her room. As quietly as he could, he turned his head to peek a look inside her room—and froze. She rocked in her chair, wearing a blue sundress that matched her eyes; except they were closed, and it looked like she were asleep. But it was in the window that made Kaito look in horror.

For there was a man in a purple mask that resembled that of a leaf burning. He had a black robe with a hood over his head. He had his hands hovering around the side of her head, transmitting some purple energy inside of it. Behind the masked man was a copy of him, making a hand seal and what looked to be transmitting chakra to the other man.

Kaito's body moved on his own; suddenly his lungs burned and the villain looked up in shock. Three shuriken sailed towards him, all three embedding themselves into his clone's mask. He cursed, and stopped the technique, bringing out a sharp knife that gleamed in the moonlight. The man used the tips of his toes to push himself off the ground, charging at amazing speeds towards Kaito. Before he could strike, two figures were in front of Kaito. One figure was in mid-flip motion, grabbing both of his hands. The other figure threw a hard punch in the stranger's stomach, causing a muffled gasp of shock and pain. He sailed back and Aoi and Hayato landed a foot in front of Kaito.

"You okay?" Aoi, along with Hayato, was in a defensive stance.

"Yeah," Kaito quickly recovered, looping his fingers through three more shuriken. In a swift motion he pulled them out, glaring at their enemy in fury. Kaito and Hayato broke into a dash at the man, while Aoi stayed back. Kaito made three consecutive hand seals. "Water Style," Hayato jumped in front of Kaito, and turned mid-air, adjusting himself as Kaito yelled, "Wild Water Waves!" Water shot out of his mouth and propelled Hayato forward. He gladly let the water push him, landing a solid kick into the man's rib cage. With a satisfying crack, he flew through the window, the shattering glass still not waking up Mariko. As he sailed in the air, he became a puffy white cloud.

"A clone!" Aoi yelled. And if Aoi was right—that meant Hayato was standing right next to the real one. The masked man reached for Hayato's face, but suddenly he wretched his hand away, a kunai sticking through his palm. He backed into the windowsill, giving a quick glance to Aoi, who had thrown the kunai with marksman accuracy.

Hayato jumped back to where Kaito was standing, carrying a limp Mariko in his arms.

"Tch." The man said, before jumping out the window, free-falling backwards.

Kaito ran after him.

"Hayato, stay with her. I'm going with Kaito."

He nodded and put her on the bed as Aoi and Kaito jumped out of the window.

. . .

They were pursuing the masked man, who had suddenly gotten on the roof. He jumped from roof to roof, and where he went, the two genin followed.

"Kaito," Aoi yelled over the rushing wind, "Get Sora! Just _get Sora_! I'll get him!"

"No way!" He yelled back, "I'm not letting him escape!"

"That won't be necessary." They heard Sora's voice somewhere in front of them. The man jumped from another roof, but never made it to the other one. Suddenly a bright glint shone in the night sky, and he was yanked to the side and sent flying. Kaito and Aoi turned and followed where he had landed.

What they didn't expect, however, was to find a crater.

A huge crater sat near the gates of the village. At the bottom was a lump of wood, a coin buried deep in the middle of it, sending steam flowing in the air. Sora had appeared next to them.

"Wh-what did you do?" Kaito was awestricken for a moment.

"A sensei's got his secrets." Sora smiled. He quickly became serious.

"The guy used substitution. He probably got away."

"Sensei, we can still go after him, right?"

"No, we should go back to that girl. This mystery girl might have some answers."

. . .

"What happened?" She looked around crazily.

"Mariko, is it?" Sora began, "I think we've just about solved your case. There was a man who was, we assume, using genjutsu on you at night. That's why you could swear you were going crazy."

"But when they happened—"

"He probably just made them happen so it would make you _think_ you could see the future."

"It also explains the food and the clothes. He'd put you to sleep, and you'd wake up with food on the kitchen table." Aoi agreed.

"How long have these illusions been occurring? Since you were a kid? When you became a teenager?"

"W-wait, wait—"

"_Answer me_." Sora said sternly. This was a side of their sensei they had never seen. Sora had looked at the kids' expressions and blinked. He rubbed his forehead impatiently.

"Can you three please get out? This needs to be private." He asked kindly, but there was something in his voice that said that this wasn't up for discussion. "Just go back home and go to sleep. It'll all be settled by tomorrow morning." He sighed, and when they were out, slammed the door shut.

The three stayed there as the investigation went on, Aoi and Hayato leaving soon.

"B-but why? _Why _would he do this to me?" Kaito could hear her voice crack.

"I don't know. You might have to stay here until this all settles. I'm not sure what would happen if you were to go out—"

"_No_!" Kaito burst in the door. Sora glared at the genin, but he didn't back down.

"She can stay with us!" he defended, "I'm sure Rika and Mamoru wouldn't mind!"

"...How do you know them?" Mariko suddenly asked. Finally, Kaito saw what was painfully familiar about her. He saw what he should've seen the moment he stepped into the room and saw her crying her heart out: Her eyes.

They were the same eyes as Mamoru's.

* * *

><p><em>AN: And that's a rap! We haven't heard all from Kaito and his pals yet. I guess no one could guess. Even after I said blonde hair? Meh. I probably purposefully gave you a bad hint, secretly because I didn't want you guys to get it right. Hehehe... Sorry :3<em>

_Any idea on who it is now? R&R!_


	7. The Coal's Enemy

**Arc One, Chapter 7: The Coal's Enemy**

Kaito stared at her for a moment.

"Mariko," he asked slowly, "When did the curse start?"

"When I moved back here."

"Okay. And you moved back in with your family?"

"Of course... Why?"

"Your family. The ones who got threatened. Did your mother have blonde hair?"

Sora looked at Kaito, to Mariko, and back to the genin. He was obviously confused as to what was going on.

"Yes, just like mine, except I haven't had a brush in ages."

"And Michio and Rika?"

"Why, they're my parents. Do you know them?"

. . .

"Kaito!" Aoi came down the stairs, approaching the boy. "Where were you last night? Sora told us to come home."

"Sora and I spent the night over there. I've got to tell you something upstairs." He lowered his voice. She nodded, and followed him up the creaky stairs. Over the few days, they had learned how to maneuver around the stairs that creaked. It was hard, but the results were fruitful enough that they didn't mind.

Hayato was in his bed, playing with a kunai, again, when they entered the room. He looked up and rose an eyebrow in a silent question as Aoi walked in after Kaito.

"I've got some news," Kaito announced, laying down on his bed.

"I'm all ears." Aoi chirped, Hayato nodding with her.

"Mariko is Rika and Mamoru's daughter."

Aoi gasped.

"Really?"

"Yeah. Sora's working on Mariko's condition, trying to see if the technique placed on her will affect her if she were to go outside. I'm just here to deliver the message. I didn't get to tell you, but nice shot." He turned to Aoi.

"Hm? Me? What?"

"Last night, remember?"

She looked up in a thoughtful pose.

"Oh yeah! It was no biggee. I've just got good accuracy, is all."

"I couldn't have made that shot!"

"Well I'm not the only one who did something amazing!" She smiled, lightly punching Kaito and Hayato on their shoulders, "You and Hayato did that water thing! That was awesome! Next time you two make a team move, mind inviting me to the meeting?" She smiled.

"Haha, deal." Kaito laughed. And then an idea suddenly struck Kaito. "Hey, how about we train?" He suggested.

"Today? If Sora-sensei will let us."

"Oh yeah. What about going to check on Mariko?"

"Sure. But first, shouldn't we tell... _Them_."

Kaito sighed. He wanted to avoid this for as long as he could, but if not now, then when? Tomorrow, or the day after? No, he decided he'd do it today and hear it from them.

"Yeah," Kaito stood up, "Let's go tell them."

. . .

"Mariko!?" Rika dropped the plate she was scrubbing as Mamoru screamed the name. "Where did you hear that name? From who?"

"Well—"

"I think you two should sit down for this." Aoi informed them.

They obediently sat of the couch, Mamoru squeezing Rika's hands tightly.

"First, answering your question, no one said anything about her. Second thing is, we'd like to confirm if she is your daughter."

Rika nodded slightly, squeezing Mamoru's hand tighter.

"We have learned her tale, and have news to tell you. If it is good or bad, that's really up to you two." Aoi paused before continuing.

"We have discovered that she was not cursed, but is being messed with. We believe a man has been sneaking in her room at night and using a form of genjutsu on her mind. Genjutsu is a sort of illusionray technique, so when he put those illusions in her head, we think he made those things happen later, so it would seem she saw the future."

"So does that mean that she can come back?" There was a touch of desperation in his voice. Aoi's heart went out to the couple yet again.

"We're waiting for Sora to get back. He should be here any second."

"Aoi! He's here!" Kaito called from the front door.

Aoi sighed with relief as the door opened.

"She's alright." Sora said, as if knowing what they were about to ask. He stepped to the side and Mariko stepped in.

Rika was the first off her feet, and suddenly she was hugging her. After a moment of shock, Mariko hugged back. Mamoru joined as the two began crying. But these weren't tears of sadness. No, they were the tears of finally being reunited.

. . .

"There was a very delicate genjutsu placed on her," Sora said. The four ninjas had gone upstairs to let them have their reconciliation time. "I believe it was all broken apart when Kaito interrupted him. If we want answers as to why he chose her, we need to find our guy. My clone is tracking him now, so if I hear any word from him I'll inform you of our next actions."

"Sensei, can we train?"

"Sorry, but no. To train we'd have to go out of the village, and they could use that moment to strike. Preferably they do it on a nice day," Sora looked out the window, "I'd hate to fight in the rain."

"I don't think that we have a say in weather..." Kaito sweatdropped.

"That's true, otherwise I'd always make..." Sora drifted off.

"Make what?" Aoi asked.

The jounin sighed and looked at his students.

"They're attacking soon."

. . .

"What?" Aoi sat up, "How soon?"

"In two-to-three days. They've been planning this for a while. Close to three years to be exact. There's _so_ many of them." Sora stood up, cursing silently to himself. "We have to put out the fire."

"Why?" Kaito asked.

"They don't know exactly where the village is, and plan on attacking at night. The fire from the village will lead them."

"Okay, so we extinguish the fire. Easy enough." Kaito nodded.

"No," Aoi shook her head, "The chief and the villagers won't let that pass. Mamoru told me that the fire's been going on since the village's construction."

"So we have to convince them."

"Yes," Sora looked at his genins, "And I'm trusting that task to you. I have to set some traps. If you need me, I imagine you know how to call me." Before he stood, he looked at Aoi one last time.

Without another word, Sora disappeared.

. . .

"Mamoru, do you know if we could talk to the elder?" Kaito asked as they were dinner. The day was much quieter since the jounin had left. At first they had been angered, but they had soon gotten over it.

"I believe you can see him tonight. I'll show you to his mansion." He took a sip of his soup.

"May I ask why you would want to speak with him?" Rika spoke up.

"It's just some ninja business." Aoi reassured. She didn't want to involve them in this. This could easily cause a panic.

Michio and Mariko had finished before the others and he wanted to show her his cards. They had gone into his—now theirs since Mariko had moved back in—room, and they could hear Michio's tiny giggles from the kitchen.

"Well when you're done, I'll show you to him."

"Thanks!" Kaito said, taking one last bite from his sandwich.

* * *

><p>It was cool outside, clouds blocking their view of the starry night sky. The people of the village danced around the fire, and the flames danced with them, its tongues licking the them as they spun and twirled. A couple of streets down lay the village's leader's mansion. They entered and were treated by an assistant. She wore an elegant suit and had her black hair up in a tight bun.<p>

"How may I help you?"

"Our friends need to speak with the elder, Mai-san."

"Sure, right this way." She directed the group upstairs and into a small office.

"Here he is." She bowed and walked out of the room.

A very thin man with a scraggy beard looked up at them and smiled a kind-hearted, toothy grin.

"How may _I _help you?"

"Sir," Aoi took a step forward, "We'd like to speak to you about the bandits."

"They're meddlesome aren't they?" He sighed. "Almost as meddlesome as my grandchildren. What about them?"

"Well, they're planning to attack soon."

"What!?" The chief and Mamoru and Rika said simultaneously.

"Yes, sir. They are planning to attack at nightfall in—well, soon. They plan on using the village's flame as a means to locate it in the dark. We ask you to either extinguish the fire, or cover it."

"Unfortunately we cannot craft something so big in the short amount of time, nor do we have the items to do so. Are you sure this is all true?"

Kaito nodded for her.

"We swear on Konoha's good name that it is."

His eyes were stuck on them like glue until he finally said, "Okay. I will tell the villagers right now. And you all will come with me."

. . .

"Villagers!" The scrawny man yelled at a surprisingly loud level, "I have an announcement!"

He threw something in the fire and it changed colors; the burning orange turned into a scarlet red. The same red that was on the door.

Mutters and mumbles infected and spread throughout the crowd.

"These visitors have alerted us that the bandits that have plagued us for so very long are finally attempting to attack us. The last time these flames changed into this sinister color, only one house stood above the wreckage. We scratched the inside door of that house three times to signify that it was the third time that menace had destroyed all that we had loved," he spat the word "menace" viciously, "And again, as we had to do two other times, we rebuilt our beloved village, the fire only a flicker, but still alight.

"But now we have an advantage. It has been long since we took up arms, and even then, we were sourly outmatched. If not for the Village of the Leaf, we would have been all but destroyed. For that, we have owed them a great debt. And today, it is an even greater one. For these ninja," he gestured towards the three kids on his right side, "Have warned us of yet another attack. So I beg of you, listen to their plead with all of your hearts. This is not only our lives in jeopardy, but the children's." He took a step back and waved at the genin.

Kaito took a step forward and took a deep breath. Aoi had told him what to say. The only reason she couldn't do it was because of the large crowd.

But he could.

"Hello!" Kaito waved, "My name is Kaito. I am a genin of Konohagakure. These are my teammates, Aoi and Hayato. Together with our jounin sensei, we have learned the bandits' plan. They plan to attack soon. _Very_ soon, in fact. And the only way to stop them is if we out out _that_ fire." He didn't have to point; they already knew what he was talking about.

A couple of gasps escaped from numerous mouths as Kaito went on.

"I know that this flame resembles a lot to you people. But if we extinguish it—"

"How can you possibly understand? You aren't even a villager!" A voice broke through the silence.

"Yeah! For all we know you could be working with the bandits!"

"If that fire is extinguished so is our pride! Do you even know what this fire means?"

More and more yells broke in, causing Kaito to look around with a panicked expression.

His heartbeat fastened, and just when he thought he was going to burst—

"Quiet!" A strong voice from behind yelled. Hayato stepped up. "Just. Listen."

Kaito seemed to calm down, and silently thanked his friend for quieting the crowd.

Kaito cleared his throat and began again.

"This headband," He took off his forehead protector, "Is proof that I belong to the Leaf Village. And not only is it proof, it is something special to me. My parents told me the day I become a ninja would be the happiest day of my life. And they were right. I'm on a team with some fun people. Heck, on this very mission alone, I have met a great family, and an even greater village! My parents have had to endure quite a lot, and because of it we've had some rough times, together and apart. This little piece of fabric and metal in my hand tells me that not all times will be bad. It gives me hope that from now on, only good times will come. I reach up and feel that hope _every_ day. I don't know what special meaning the fire has for you, but if you don't bring that flame down now, you may never see it burn again." He let the words sink in.

"I agree!" Mamoru and Rika stood out, smiling at the boy.

"I do, too!" Michio joined.

"Same here! We still haven't has that adventure yet!" The three boys waved frantically in the crowd. Soon their parents agreed, and their friends agreed, and their friends' friends agreed. With one last wave, majority of the crowd had voted to extinguish the flame. The 1/3 of the crowd that hadn't agreed glared daggers at the ninja at the front. But Kaito barely noticed as he stepped back and let the elder speak.

"The vote has been taken. To preserve a piece of the flame, we shall use the sacred torch. And on behalf of our future generations, I thank you villagers, and also these Shinobi."

. . .

The ninja were extremely proud of what they had accomplished. Though they hadn't gotten everyone's favor, they got well over enough. They woke up the next morning and wondered where their sensei was. After checking his empty room, they followed the sweet aroma of breakfast: on the table lay steamed rice, miso soup, grilled fish, and tamagoyaki.

While Kaito ran at the table like an animal, Aoi went to Rika.

"Do you know where Sora is?"

"No dear, I thought you all did. Wherever he is, I'm sure he's fine." She smiled. "Help yourself to breakfast. We get up quite early, so everything on the table is yours for the taking."

Kaito was already eating by the time Hayato had pulled his chair out.

"Thank you." Aoi went to take a seat at the table, flicking Kaito's ear as she passed by him.

. . .

After freshening up, the ninja had gone out to see if they could help in any way. Not many jobs needed to be performed, so when they finally came home, they arrived to see a note taped on Sora's door.

It read:

'_How did everything go? Well I hope everything went well. Tonight is the night of the attack. If you have the fire out by tonight, then my plan will work. Stay by the chief tonight until you decide something else should be kept a close watch on. Do well, my little shrimps! I'm counting on you! - Sora._"

On the bottom of the note, a small little picture of a coin was drawn in black ink. Looking closely, they could see Sora's face drawn in the coin.

"His 'little shrimps'?" A grin tugged at the corner of Kaito's lips.

"Why couldn't he just be here to tell us?" Aoi asked.

"Maybe he's just like that? Either way, if he wants us to watch over the elder, I'll do it. You guys up for some boring surveillance?"

"Why not?" Aoi sighed, "I've got time."

. . .

Around nightfall the ninja had hid in the shadows near the elders' mansion. Aoi and Kaito hid on a rooftop while Hayato hid in a bush near the building.

They observed as the elder snored off, jerking awake whenever his assistant—was Mai her name?—would check on him. As Kaito had said, it was boring, the only enjoyment from eating snacks. Before they knew it, two hours had passed. The elder was fully awake and signing a couple of documents. The fire had been extinguished, and the chief himself had the torch that held but a piece of the once huge, flickering flame. The torch was held on the right side of the room. Mai had dropped off a couple of more papers, bowed and exited the room.

"Kaito," Aoi whispered, "I think we're supposed to follow her."

"I was thinking it too, but wasn't sure. No one else has been in the mansion. You ready?"

She shook her head.

Mai walked out the building a moment later, walking down the streets. And the strangest thing happened: She walked towards the lake and dropped her things in it. She then proceeded to the village's gate, where three guards sat at the top of a wall, a large bell next to them.

She disappeared before she got to the guards.

The ninja were already following her, and quickly tracked her location. She had changed from her uniform into a dirty white, mummy-like fabric top, a long and torn dark green skirt, yellow straw sandals, and let her hair out.

She jumped on a tree and began dashing; getting over their shock, they silently followed. When they had gotten a far distance from the village they decided they would stop her from reaching her destination.

They split apart in the dark forrest.

She took another leap on a tree, and suddenly it exploded. She twisted awkwardly in the air and caught onto a branch. Moving swiftly, Aoi landed on the branch she was clinging to.

"Going somewhere, 'Mai-san'?"

"Tsk." She let go of the branch and fell into the darkness. Landing on the ground, she broke into a sprint.

Hayato dropped to the ground in front of her. She skidded to a stop, and Kaito appeared behind her.

She sighed and stood up straight.

"You kids don't know what you're getting into," She growled, "You should stay out of this while you can."

"I guess that means you're working for the bandits." Kaito glared.

"We wouldn't want you going back to your leader, now would we?" Aoi said from somewhere above.

The woman placed a hand on her hip.

"All I need is for the fire to go back up. I don't want to hurt you, and I don't really have to. I just want to safely go back into my boss's arms," she looked turned to look at Kaito, "And it'd be a shame if corpses were found on my way there. Don't you agree?"

Mai looked behind him and smiled.

"Ah, there we go. The fire is lit yet again."

Kaito didn't trust her enough to follow her gaze. He stared her down.

"You don't want to see? It's quite beautiful, actually. Oh, how rebels don't want to listen. They make my job so much easier. All it takes is a little persuasion and _viola_." She grinned maliciously. Aoi dropped down in front of Kaito.

She motioned for him to take her spot, and he quickly did.

As he reached a fairly high branch, he looked back to the village and stared in disbelief.

A large light was illuminating the darkness. They had failed.


	8. The Fifth Affiliate

**Arc One, Chapter 8: The Fifth Affiliate **

Kaito had unconsciously balled up his fist.

"Kaito!" Aoi's voice brought him back into reality, "Go! Extinguish that fire before it's too late! We'll handle her!" Her voice was stern, her statement meant to have no questions or declinations.

He nodded his head, already regretting that he had to leave his teammates behind to fix the mess that was already their fault. "Alright!" He turned from his teammates, giving them a parting glance before he raced towards the fire. Kaito's team had gone farther than he had thought, because at this distance, the fire was only a small dot of light.

They had failed. The easiest task of putting out a damned fire, and they had failed it. Sora's plan was ruined, and it would be their fault. Why couldn't the villagers keep their fire out for a day? For a freaking day! Not even that; a _night_! Was that such a loathsome task that they were willing to risk their life for it?

'_Idiots_!' Kaito screamed mentally, '_They're all such idiots_!'

The wind whistled past Kaito's ears as he pushed each step, forcing his body to go faster than his usual pace. He jumped on one last branch and was suddenly arrested on it, his ear twitching as he heard another sound; the harsh thud of boots pounding the ground, followed by a loud group of grunts.

Kaito turned his head, only slighty, and for a moment, his heart thought it might have been Sora who came back with reinforcements. Maybe that was part of his plan? But no, their sensei's face was not that of a dirty, gritty, evil grinning bastard. And not only was there one, there seemed to be hundreds of men, and they were bandits no doubt. They marched across the forrest grounds, eyes running over the flame of the village hungrily, the anticipation of attacking so great that a few of the men chuckled. Kaito's heart had sunk. What had he done. They were far away in the distance, but Kaito still knew that it would be almost no time until they reached Kaito's position, then the village.

Kaito snapped his head as he heard the snap of a twig, then see shadows race beneath him. 'Scouts?' Kaito cursed and started leaping from tree to tree again. Maybe if he stopped the scouts, then that would give him more time. Just maybe...

Whatever the chance, he was willing to take it. Heck, any chance was better than none. And Kaito _refused_ to let anyone die because of his mistake.

. . .

Mai hadn't made any actions since Kaito had left. She didn't try to pursue him, nor did she try to throw any projectiles at him to halt his movement. She simply stood still before the two genin, sizing them up with cocky glances.

'_Either this woman is extremely cautious_,' Aoi thought, '_Or she doesn't take us seriously_.'

"Do you mind if I get this over with?" She sighed and bent backwards, her hair dangling over the cold forest floor, "I'll make sure you two kiddies don't die, though, mmkay?" Mai curled her lips into a creepy smile before the fight began.

She flicked her wrists, and two black wristbands with spikes made from chipped bone appeared. She thrust her hand towards Aoi, and something white shot out.

Aoi side-stepped and watched as the projectile flew past her. Upon closer examination, Aoi saw that a string was connected to whatever she had thrown so Aoi gripped the kunai in her hand tightly, raising the kunai to cut the string. The woman, still in the same awkward position, suddenly was yanked towards the kunoichi. Aoi cursed as she pulled herself to the side, the woman spinning gracefully in an attempt to cut her with her sharp bracelet. The woman flew past Aoi and connected with a tree before another needle shot from her bracelet toward Aoi. Aoi ducked, and gripped her kunai even more tightly. She raised her blade to cut the string, but Mai had swung her arm to the side, dragging the wire along with it.

Hayato was suddenly by Aoi's side as Mai shot another projectile and flew into the branches like a puppet with strings. Aoi and Hayato stood back-to-back as more and more projectiles rained around, all thrown off target and hitting somewhere farther away. Aoi caught a glimpse of the same material the spikes on her bracelet had. '_So she's shooting the spikes? So they're connected to her bracelet through some wiring technique? This is gonna be..._' Aoi bit her lip, her mind racing in an attempt to devise a strategy.

"Want to play monkey in the middle, kiddies?" Mai's voice bounced off the trees, "You two are it."

In a blur, she appeared above them with a blade in her hand. The two genin split, and just before she crashed into the ground she froze in place like a puppet's strings who had been cut. She hung mid-air, her hair creepily covering her face. Still in the air, she abruptly moved towards Hayato with unbelievable speed. He jumped to a higher place, and she seemed to follow. He tried to go somewhere else, and she easily got there just as fast. Mai was practically flying as Hayato tried to evade her blade. He brought out a kunai and they began clashing in the air.

But it wasn't long before Hayato was on the defensive.

Wherever he retreated to, she would suddenly freeze in the air, and change directions, almost as if gravity had no effect on her. As she changed lunged at Hayato again, and her hair parted to show the crazed expression on her face that made Aoi shiver. Hayato narrowly dodged a thrust to his stomach, the blade nicking his side. He cursed, and flashed into the forrest.

"That's one." She smiled wickedly, turning her head towards Aoi. "You ready, doll?"

Aoi gulped. Without any hesitation in the slightest, the woman zipped down towards her, but suddenly Hayato was there, slamming his knee into her ribcage. She was yanked to the side and crashed into a tree as Hayato fell limply to the ground, landing near Aoi.

"H-Hayato!" she ran to the boy, sliding on her knees to sit beside him.

She quickly checked on the boy, rolling him over. The wound was beginning fester, and the area around the wound was red with a tint of sickly green.

"Poison." Aoi cursed. At this rate...

"Your friend got quite the hit on me," Mai screamed with suppressed rage, "I won't forgive him. But then again, I'm not sure which poison he was infected with. He could very well not have much time at all. You see, on each of my spikes they have a different poison. It won't be long before you're subjected to all of them..."

Aoi stood up slowly and calmly.

"Do you have the antidote?" Aoi's voice stood steady even in the predicament she faced.

"That's strange of you to ask. If I do?"

The clouds finally parted, the moonlight showering the wires in bright, gleaming light that exposed Mai's trick.

Aoi brought her hands together.

Blue chakra bloomed around her feet, and enveloped her in beautiful waves. She thrust her arm out, and the chakra rushed down along her arm and into her hand. It began taking form, and materialized into a longbow made of pure chakra.

"Simple enough. I'll take it from your unconscious body."

. . .

Kaito had made one final lunge, and was now over the scouts. There were four of them, and these scouts were dressed differently than the bandits behind, but they sluggish way they moved about told Kaito that what little training they had, it was nothing compared to his years at the Academy. Keeping up with their pace, he made three rapid hand seals.

"Water Style: Wild Water Waves!" Water fell upon them, the force crushing all four of them. Kaito landed in front of the fallen scouts to fight any who were still up. The two whom were knocked out had their faces buried in the ground, their clothes completely soaked. Guess Kaito had used a bit too much chakra in that one...

"W-what the? You stupid brat..." One moaned, staggering up.

"I'm going to kill you!" Another stood. The others seemed completely unconscious.

The two men standing in front of Kaito seemed strong, and each of them carried a large axe on their backs. The one on the left was big and burly, while the only on the right had less of a build.

Kaito decided he would quickly finish the one on the right off and proceed to the one on the left. He needed to finish off these guys so he could return back to the village. It was about time he used a new technique he was working on back at Konoha!

Dashing at them, he made the same hand seals and shot the water at his feet, blasting him into the air.

"Raining Kunai Dance!" He screamed, bouncing from tree to tree throwing kunai. With every five pair of kunai thrown, he'd shoot a small burst of water at them, launching a flurry of water and projectiles at the men. The bandit on the right had been pierced by three kunai before getting shot by water, stumbling. What Kaito hadn't predicted, however, was that the bandit on the left would stand in front of his affiliate, shielding both of them with his axe.

"Tsk," he said, "Give me your axe!"

Without waiting for a response, he turned the scrawnier scout around and yanked the axe off his back. "H-Hideo" the scrawny one wailed in protest.

"Shut up!" He slammed the back of the axe against his partner's head, knocking him out cold in one fell swoop. Kaito gulped before picking up two kunai off the ground, holding both of them in backhanded grips. "Bring it, kid." he gestured in a barbaric stance.

Kaito nodded, remembering all of his training.

Kaito dashed, running from side to side while remaining eye contact with his foe. Nearing him, the man bellowed, "It won't be that easy!" and rose one of his brawny arms high. Kaito smirked slyly, and charged straight for him. "Haaa!" the man screamed, bringing his arm down. Little did he know, the way he swung was too slow for the quick genin.

By the time the man's arm was halfway down to hitting Kaito, Kaito was already on him. He knew that attacking his straight on was no use; no, from the look of his body, this guy could take a couple of hits. So instead, he tackled this opponent _his_ way.

Kaito added chakra to the bottom of his feet to smoothly slide under him, burying the kunai he had in each hand in both of his bare feet. "GAAAAAHHH!" The man cried out, slamming his axe down into the ground. Kaito wasn't done yet; the man still had his other axe in the hand behind his back. Kaito snatched the axe from the scout who was too busy wailing in pain to even notice. "Haaah!" Kaito let out a battlecry, slamming the back of the axe against his head with as much strength as he could muster.

'Timbeerr!' Kaito thought as the man—Hideo, right? —fell down like a log, the thud of his body on the forrest ground equivalent to that of a walrus'.

Kaito didn't have time to smile or admire his handiwork for long, so he turned behind to see how far the rest of his enemies were from him—And saw the large army of bandits staring at him. They looked at him, down to Hideo, and back to the snow-haired genin. "Ahehe... It's not what it looks like, guys! See, I can explain _everything_... as soon as I'm GONE!"

He turned and bolted, running as fast as he could to the fire; he had to outrun them, not only to avoid the sure defeat, but to warn the village and everyone in it. He just _had_ to. The fire was just so close.

He panted heavily as they howled behind him, the sound of their stomping feet echoing in the forrest. Kaito's heart was hammering so hard in his chest that he thought it would explode. As soon as he began to get tired, a throwing knive flew past Kaito's face, and Kaito quickly got a second wind. Dashing out of the woods, he reached an open area.

The bandits were on his tail, and from the previous fight and they way he pushed his muscles to go forward, every step felt like he were lifting concrete bricks.

An open field lay in front of him, the fire nearing even closer. In his haste, however, he made the fatal mistake of tripping, and he fell. "Dammit!' He screamed, as he rolled trying to stand back up. They were right behind him. He needed to hurry!

He looked up towards the fire and paused.

The fire was large, but he realized he wasn't in the village. He was in an open field. An _open field!_ So they hadn't relit the fire after all!

Giant logs were burning inside of the fire, and in front of it stood Sora, his eyes gleaming in the bright light of the unimaginably large campfire.

"Welcome to my bonfire." He spread his arms out announced venomously, the shadows of the flame dancing wildly behind him. "Right into my trap."

. . .

"What technique is that, girl?" Mai stared in shock—and what seemed like horror—as more chakra poured into the bow, making it grow stronger and brighter.

Aoi ignored her question and drew back the string of her bow. An arrow made of chakra swirled into existence as she drew the string back. She nocked her arrow and aimed at the woman, closing one eye to better her focus.

"Silly girl, I can just maneuver around your pathetic shots." She tugged at her bracelet and started zooming around in a crazy, unpredictable fashion. "Go on, give it your best shot!"

Aoi took a deep breath in, and let a silent breath come out like a whisper from her slightly open lips. Without a word, Aoi released the arrow. With precise accuracy, gleamed in a flash as it pierced Mai and dug deeply into Mai's thigh.

A high-pitched howl went out in the silent woods. She swore as she yanked the arrow out, stifled cries of anger and rage barely concealed by her sloppy breathing.

"You _bitch_." She spat, crushing the arrow and watching it turn into a blue, steam-like substance. Blood streamed down her right leg, the crimson red liquid dropping onto the wires below. Her leg lay limp as she used one of her wires to swing back to a tree, hoping to keep from view.

However, she had underestimated Aoi's skill with the bow. And she would regret that dearly.

Again, Aoi said nothing as she took three steps to a tree, pulled the string back, and shot. Another shriek pierced the air. "How does that rib feel?" Aoi was calm in an almost deadly manner. "I'll give you one more chance to give me the antidote. Now." She nocked another arrow. The thing Mai did next, however, Aoi could not predict.

The woman jumped from the trees with a bow piercing through her left abdomen.

She fell towards Aoi, a mad grin spread across her face and revealing her bloodied teeth as more trickled down the side of her face. The horrifying sight making Aoi grip falter.

"Together we shall die, then!" She yelled, and ripped the fabric off her shirt to reveal a large paper bomb.

Aoi stared in shock as the woman plummeted towards her, her body paralyzed by fear.

Sure, Aoi could escape, barely at that, but Hayato couldn't. Aoi let the chakra of the bow and arrow disperse, and ran to cover Hayato, preparing for the worst.

_Boom!_

. . .

"S-Sora!" Kaito stuttered, crawling to his sensei.

"Glad to see you, too, kid." The jounin smiled. "Where are the others?"

"They're fighting some woman. We need to help them—"

A large explosion went off somewhere in the forrest. And worse, it sounded like it came from the area Kaito had just come from.

Kaito's body went numb.

"What was that?" Kaito feared for the answer, a cold sweat rolling down the back of his neck.

"I don't know," Sora glared at the large group of bandits surrounding them. "We won't find out until we deal with these pests."

Sora bent down and handed Kaito four coins.

Kaito barely realized when they fell into his palm. He was _literally_ numb with shock. Nothing could have happened to Aoi and Hayato, right? Was it really the right choice to have left them? _Kami_ he was making so many mistakes...

"Twenty minutes," Sora told him, "I'll get rid of them in twenty minutes. I'm sure the others are okay. I can feel it in my gut. They wouldn't lose to some maid, right? So rest," He ruffled the boy's hair and turned to the crowd. "Because you see, I won't be fighting alone," he told the crowd, and displayed a coin.

He gently lay the coin on the ground and made a hand seal.

"Coin Summoning: Beast."

Light exploded from the coin, and another Sora erupted from the small piece of metal.

But this clone was different.

He had longer, much more spiky hair than the original that touched the ground and was half a head taller than Sora's head. He had a feral, wild and unpredictable look in his eyes, and stood in a bestial pose. His teeth were sharper, fingernails and toenails transformed into sharp claws, and he growled like a lion ready to strike.

This wasn't the Sora he knew at all.

Without a command, the clone launched an attack on the clones. It jumped in the air, and struck it's first victim with gruesome accuracy, the man not able to utter a word before going down. Another tried to turn towards the beast. It slung it's head over, and suddenly three more had fallen. In one motion, it stabbed an attacker, bit into another's neck, and slammed its foot into the head of a fallen enemy. Using the man who's neck it was attached to as a weapon, he flung him into the crowd.

By this time some had fled, while others had charged recklessly at the demon, trying to avenge their fallen comrades.

Either way, they would all go down.

Finally one had jumped on top of it, and others followed his lead, climbing and stacking themselves on the clone. A flame rose from the center of the mass of bodies. Men rolled off frantically and began running, but an inferno of flames had already engulfed them.

In the middle of the ball of fire stood the clone, his head raised high and his mouth open in a silent howl. Kaito looked down at his hand. Only one coin remained.

The rest of the bandits had fled, and the beast came stomping to Sora. Kaito stared at the being. He knew he should be scared, horrified even, of this creature. It had probably just murdered, butchered, and slaughtered men left and right, burning some alive. But somewhere inside of him, Kaito knew that there was no need. He couldn't explain it, it was just... there.

Kaito gulped and looked down to the ground. '_Murder, huh?_' he thought to himself, '_Not my first time seeing it, but just as scary all the same_'. He felt his chest and thought his heart might burst out of his chest.

"Don't worry," Sora said, still standing next to the genin. In fact, the ninja hadn't moved at all. The clone pretty much did all of the work. "He didn't kill any of them. Wounded heavily, maybe. Burned to a crisp, possibly. But killed? Nah. We've still got the boss left to deal with, anyway." He nodded towards the dark woods.

A slow round of exaggerated applause began, and a man in a red shirt, white coat with yellow trimmings, black pants and shoes, and wore a spaulder made of metal on his right arm. He had red spiky hair, and a black tattoo on the palm of his right hand.

"Well done, well done." He commended, "It has been long since I've seen a Konoha-nin of your rank. Tell me, what is your name?"

Kaito sensed that something was off with the way he asked the question. It wasn't much of a question, but more of an unenthusiastic greeting; as if he knew of their sensei already.

"I don't intend to give it to strangers. Stranger-danger and all." Sora shrugged.

"Ahh, a joke! Are you the clown of this group, or something?"

The beast Sora snarled at this and leapt at the man. Lightning flashed, and the redhead swiped his right hand to the left; the clone was split horizontally from side to side, it's lower half flopping to the ground.

The man grabbed the top half of the clone, and wiggled a finger at them.

"Now, that wasn't nice, now was it, jokester."

Sora took a step forward. The clone wasn't bleeding; in fact, the section where it was cut from the bottom-half gleamed.

'_Like copper_!' Kaito thought. Cracks like spiderwebs appeared on its body, and it dissolved into a golden-tinted dust.

"If you don't mind, I must go someplace else. I sent a small squad to the village, so they should be handling _that_ with ease. Excuse me," he turned.

Sora clapped his hands together.

"Fire Style: Lumber Spirit!"

The flames in the distraction Sora had made burned brighter, all the wood in it disappearing into ash and then becoming one with the flame. The flame raged, and spears of fire shot out of it. In a flash, the spears crashed into the spot where the man was. Just when Kaito thought Sora had gotten the man, he heard his voice:

"Was that needed?"

The man appeared on the left side of a huge, burned crater.

"Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a comrade to avenge. From your little genin nonetheless."

. . .

Aoi's head was throbbing painfully when she came to. She looked around and sucked in a breath.

A black, crystal-like dome protected her from the blast. She was alive, she thought gratefully.

She turned to Hayato, who had his hand dug deeply into the dirt.

"Pine Style," he panted, "Dome." Hayato collapsed, his breath sloppy but breathing nonetheless.

Aoi looked up. It was blurry, almost foggy outside. She touched the dark material, thinking it would be hot from the blast.

But the dome was cool to the touch.

Aoi looked around.

'_How long have I been out? More importantly, how am I going to _get_ out?_' She pondered. But now, Hayato's condition was more important. She turned him over to expect his wound and almost doubled over, nausea creeping up her throat. Aoi turned her head and pulled out gloves placed in her shuriken holster to put them on. She carried them for an occasion like this, though she hadn't imagined that it would be so soon that she was forced to use them.

She took out her ointment and rubbed it on the wound. This would relieve some of the pain, but she still needed to do something about to poison. The problem was...

She didn't know how to do it.

The boom of thunder went off somewhere near their area. Aoi looked around, but everything was still dark and hazy under this dome. Aoi tensed, and looked up; A searing light came to the dome, slamming into it. Aoi prepared to move Hayato if the dome collapsed, but she looked up and her eyebrows rose in amazement.

There wasn't even a crack.

A man tapped it, and she could hear the faint sound of a chuckle. He slid to the side of the dome where Aoi and Hayato lay. The man cracked his fingers, and lightning erupted from his palm and coated his hand. He slammed the fist into the dome, over and over. The impact from the punches shook the barrier.

It was obvious that this man was not trying to help them.

A few more punches and it finally began to crack. Panicking, Aoi touched the dome. Focusing, she transferred her chakra into the crack, and while not being able to restore it due to the barrage of attacks, she spread her chakra in the dome, strengthening it. This would buy them enough time.

'_Enough time f__or what?_' Aoi thought, '_We can't handle this man. Not in this condition. Why must there always be someone new to fight, one after the other?_'

His voice seeped through the small crack, and she heard him yell:

"Come out, come out! It will only hurt a little."

His fist was now punching at a rapid rate. With each thud of a fist, Aoi felt the impact, the transferring of chakra somewhat giving her the feel of the shield. IT wasn't long before she felt like she was an overused punching bag. Aoi didn't know how long they had. "We can't go out like this!" Aoi screamed in frustration.

. . .

Hayato slowly and stiffly rose. He was slick with sweat, and along with a terrible feeling of nausea, he had a pounding headache. Coming from his dizzy state, he could almost imagine the dome he made was moving.

Wait, it _was_ moving.

"Hayato!" Aoi had her hands placed on the wall, and was growing paler and paler by the second. A man outside was launching an assault, Hayato finally noticed, and Aoi seemed to be trying to prevent the inevitable. "C-can you make another one of these things?"

He cursed, but his voice was weak, and was barely heard over the slamming outside.

"I'm guessing that's a no!" She screamed.

He opened his mouth dryly, searching for the words to say, and then firmly closed it. He couldn't figure out a way to help her. He was too tired, too exhausted.

He was too weak. He needed...

An idea suddenly struck Hayato.

He reached in his pocket and fumbled around for the item. It was the only way, he decided. He said he'd never use it because there would be no need, but this day he stood corrected. So much for keeping it...

_Slam!_

Aoi flew back, crashing into the other side of the round dome. She moaned, slumping to the ground while her arms fell to her side. There was a thin vertical tearing in the barrier, the edges of the tear burning red hot with electricity coursing through the burnt rock. A redheaded man was on the other side, rearing back his fist bathed in lightning for one last punch.

And Hayato pulled out the coin.

Dropping it to the ground, he slammed it with his fist just as the wall was shattered.

The pieces of the coin shone a radiant white, and in a flash Sora appeared in front of his students. At the sight, Hayato had never been so happy to see his sensei. But he had also never been so tired...

"You have received Sora-Cent-iments," Sora bowed towards the man, "And you, my friend, have received Sora's rage."

. . .

Kaito rushed to the village, running to save someone or something seeming to become Kaito's "thing". Sora had given him a detailed enough map to where he could find it, even with no fire. Finally reaching the village he found it in one piece, but it was seemingly deserted. Not knowing many places to check on, he ran to the first place he could think of: Mamoru's house.

After thoroughly searching the place, he found no sign of the family. '_Have they been adbucted..?_' Kaito thought despairingly. Before abandoning hope, he ran to the mansion. Going past various houses, he found bodies of men wearing similar cloaks to the man they found messing with Mariko's head.

They were all doused in water, a trail of bodies leading to the mansion.

What the heck was going on?

"Gahh!" A man yelled at the top of the building. Kaito looked up just as he was thrown off the building and fell to the ground. Peering down at the man, he saw that his eyelids rolled to the back of his head and a large amount of water on him. Whomever it was up there, Kaito thought, wasn't their average bandit.

Gathering up his courage, Kaito jumped up to the top of the building and prepared for battle; but instead, stared in shock.

"M-Mariko!?"

. . .

Sora made a clone that took his two genin to safety. He cracked his knuckles as the man in front of him sighed.

"I guess I cannot get to them unless I pass you." The redhead growled irritably.

"That's right, Raiden."

"Oh? And how might you know my name?" The redhead rose an eyebrow.

"I have my information. Mind telling me why you chose this village?" Sora's eyes narrowed.

"Ah, that I cannot say. I do believe, however, that you owe me an explanation as to why you're so persistent in getting in my way."

"Well that's easy. Other than you taking my hostages and knocking out the rest, hurting my little shrimps is just punishable on its own account. Sometimes by death." He glared.

"Well, why don't we just see then, jokester?" Lightning crackled in the villain's right palm, his gaze becoming more serious.

"Why not, redhead. I'll give you a _real_ shade of red." Fire swarmed around his forearms.

Thrusting his fist out, a ball of flame shot out at Raiden. Raiden held out his hands, fingers splayed, and lightning pulsed from them, disintegrating the fire like it was nothing.

Raiden moved like a flash of lightning, ramming Sora with his left shoulder. Sora stumbled, caught off guard, and rose his hand to block at the last moment as Raiden slung his fist into Sora. Sora skidded to a halt and crouched low to the ground with catlike agility.

"Lightning Style," Lightning coursed through Raiden's right arm, "Thunder's Pulse!"

The lightning travelled up to his hand, and he threw it forward. The lightning disappeared, and a large, almost invisible shockwave slammed into Sora, sending him flying into the air. Sora twisted and slammed his feet onto a tree, raising his head to glare once more at his foe. Sora crossed his arms and the flames on his body intensified. He yanked his hands apart, and his entire body was covered in a swarming mass of flames. His eyes glinted brilliantly as he flung himself off the tree and sent himself flying towards Raiden.

Then Sora sensed something else being launched at him and shot himself to the ground, avoiding the water bullet aimed at his previous location.

He turned his head to see Kaito, but he wasn't the one whom had shot the bullet; he standing beside Mariko, who was dressed in standard Konoha attire and had her hands out. _She_ was the one who had launched the technique.

"Sora," she said firmly, "Please let _me_ fight my brother. He needs to be taught a lesson in messing with his village; and more importantly, his family."


	9. A Brother Revoked

**Arc One, Chapter 9: A Brother Revoked**

"Dear sister, how are you?" Raiden's eyes sparked with slight interest, the moonlight's glow being shielded by a transparent cloud.

Mariko stared at the man with a set jaw. Her eyes, blue as they were, seemed almost gray with the steely gaze she held. There was more in them, however; the undeniable look of betrayal that stood prominent in her eyes, and one that Kaito knew oh too well. Mariko's fists shook with anger so badly one would think there was an earthquake taking place.

Raiden rose his hands and made an apologetic expression. "Don't look at me like that, Mari-chan—"

"_You_, a stranger, have no right to call me that. Only my family and friends call me by that name, and you are neither." Mari said, anger oozing with each word that came out of her mouth.

"Hm?" Raiden donned a crazed look, his pupils dilating and his knuckles cracking in his arm, producing a small bolt to flash out. "You would say that to your dear, older brother? After all I have done for you nonetheless. Ma. Ri. Chan." The way he said her name made Kaito shiver down to his bones. He glanced at his sensei who was also bewildered beyond words, just as he had been when he saw Mariko in ninja attire. And _Konoha_ ninja attire, nonetheless!

"_My_ older brother went missing two years ago," Mariko said coldly, the wind sending dust flying into the air beside her, "I already mourned for him, for he will never be back. And this very day, he is _still_ not back. What stands before me is an imposter, no more real than a lizard's shed skin."

Raiden's face twisted in the dark forrest, and in the cool, silent forest, Kaito sensed something. In the air, something had changed.

"Your older brother has never changed. I am still him." He said carefully, trying to change his face back to one that seemed trusting, more soft. It was too late now; they could see through his facade.

Kaito gulped audibly, being a little louder than he intended. Slowly though, he took one step towards his teammates. After the first step alone, he wanted to stop and turn into a statue. The tension in the air was so thick it was unbearable. Raiden's eyes weren't on Kaito, it was on Mariko's. And frankly, Kaito didn't think that that would change even if an explosion were triggered behind him. The feeling that had rose in the air, it was Kaito's first time experiencing it. He took another step, and then another, his legs feeling like heavy lead sticks moving in sticky, murky water. The unshakable feeling in the air, one produced by Raiden no doubt, was something the Academy couldn't even prepare him for.

For the air was now burning with a terrible, unquenchable bloodlust.

"No," she shook her head, "I'm afraid you're not."

Sora was in a crouching position, observing silently. As Kaito neared his teammates, Sora whispered something about "protect them" or something along those words, but Kaito couldn't hear it. His ears were glued to Mariko and Raiden. He slid his hand into his shuriken pouch and grabbed a kunai. He should have brought more, for the pouch was a little light on ninja tools at the moment. "Move them!" Sora said in a hushed, yet rushed tone. This time Kaito got the message and proceeded to care to Aoi and Hayato.

Kaito gently lay his teammates near each other, careful to move their bodies lightly. Aoi was pale, and her breath was ragged and sloppy. Kaito felt a pang of guilt as he watched her struggle to breath, even though this was the same kunoichi whom he had previously had a heated argument with. Kaito took off one of his arm warmers-thankfully which were wet already-and lay them on her head. Hayato was sweating feverishly, so Kaito did the same thing, applying the item on Hayato's forehead in replace of a wet towel.

"I remember the terrible sin you did..." Mariko said coldly, "And I remember it was all my fault."

_* Flashback *  
><em>

_Mariko and her brother had been playing outside on a peaceful afternoon. They were young at the time, and knew nothing of the world besides their small little village. Their uncle and aunt had stopped by from their village to speak with Mamoru and Rika._

_"Aye, Mari-chan," Raiden whispered in her ear with uncontainable delight, "I hear that uncle Rafu and aunt Kazue were super heros!" he giggled__. _

_"There's no such thing as a super hero! You mean super ninja!" Mariko corrected, wagging her finger in the air._

_"Nyeeeh!" Raiden stuck his tongue out, "Ninjas are super heroes, you idiot! One day I'm going to be a ninja, you'll see!"_

_"N-not if I become one before you!" Mariko shouted._

_"You won't, hehe" Raiden smirked. "I will!" She made a pouting face. _

_"You won't!"_

_"I will!"_

_"You won't!"_

_"I will!"_

_"Hey, hey," their uncle Rafu entered the conversation, all of his face, except his grinning lips, masked in a shadow from the sun's brilliant gaze, "So I heard you two wanted to be ninja, eh?" _

_"Rafu! Get away from them!" their mother came outside, placing herself in-between her children and their uncle. "Rafu, I told them I don't want them there. I don't care if you're running low on students, leave _my_ children alone!"_

_"Ah, Rika-chan-" _

_"Don't. Call me that." Their mother's voice had changed._

_"M-mama?" Raiden and Mariko tugged on their mother's sleeves, "Are you okay?"_

_Rika froze, and her blond hair couldn't conceal the fear her eyes held that day. "I-I'm fine kids. Go to your rooms kids, your mommy and uncle have to talk about something." She tilted her head and smiled her signature warm smile._

_ "Oh, okay!" The kids raced to their room, too young to know that their whole future was being planned without their say whatsoever. They were too young to realize the dangers of being a ninja, and their mother tried very hard to keep them from the life. _

_However, uncle Rafu had no intention of losing his chance for getting two new ninja._

_The children had begun playing with the straw dolls their mother and father had made for them, and after only a few moments, Mamoru and Rika came into their room, followed by their aunt, uncle, and two Shinobi in standard Leaf jounin attire. Their parents had their hands gripped tightly together, both wearing fake smiles so their children wouldn't think anything was strange. However, if there were a time where Rika and Mamoru wanted to show their true emotions, lash out at the people who would be taking their children away and at their treacherous relatives, it was now._

_"Would you two like to be ninja?" A man asked, bending down to their level. The two looked at each other, then back at the man. 'Was this a joke?' they thought, 'we thought only people in Konohagakure got accepted to be ninja...'_

_They looked to their parents. Rika looked up and met their gaze. Her eyes changed suddenly-but she was quickly blocked by aunt Kazue, whom's body stood in the way. "Go on," she smiled, "Tell the nice men what you'd like to be."_

_Mariko was the first to respond, holding her brother's hand for a soft feeling of reassurance. "U-um, mister, we would really like to become super ninjas!"_

_"Hm, super ninjas, eh? I think I can make that happen!" He patted their heads, and the two children swore the heard a stifled cry from their mother, but that couldn't be. Their mother and father were the ones who suggested this opportunity, right?_

_The kids were beaming brightly, overflowed with joy. They agreed a thousand times over, and traveled to the Village Hidden in the Leaves with their aunt and uncle. Among the many hugs given by the townspeople of the Village of Coal and neighbors and friends, the ones that took the longest were the hugs with their parents._

_"Mama, aren't you happy? We'll be super ninjas like in the story uncle Rafu told us about!" _

_Mamoru turned around at this, muttering "I'll step out for a bit" before leaving. Rika sat on her knees and took a moment to stare at her children. Her beautiful, beautiful children... She touched Raiden's hair, the same red hair he had gotten from Mamoru. She then touched Mariko's the same blond hair that Rika herself had. They truly were their beautiful children..._

_Tears began welling in her eyes as she opened her mouth to speak:_

_"Kids, We might not see each other for a long, long time. Whatever happens, I want both of you to know that daddy and mommy love you very, very much. M-make us p-proud." She broke off with a trembling lip, and pulled her children into hug. It was hug that carried all of her emotions that flowed into her children, one that the two would never forget._

_'Just,' Rika thought, 'Just come back to me.'_

_. . ._

_Their aunt and uncle lived in the village, and had agreed to let them move in with them. Moving into a much larger village, the two had no one to befriend except themselves. They didn't know their way around the village, so they would often play together in the backyard. They had made no friends, until the Academy._

_Entering the Academy, they were very nervous and very anxious. They would go home and ask their uncle for help, but he would only brush them off. It was only when a fellow classmate by the name of Akihiko came to them._

_"Hey, I haven't seen you guys before," the kid smiled, his peculiarly colored eyes sparked with anticipation of new friends. "I'm Akihiko. What's your name?"_

_"Uh, I'm Mariko," She bowed, hoping this would disguise her slight blushing, "A-and this is my brother Raiden!"_

_"'Sup!" He gave Akihiko a handshake._

_"Say," Akihiko watched as they tried to hit targets with their shuriken, "You're doing it all wrong! Here, let me show you," He grabbed Mariko's hands and went through the motions with her. 'He's so close...' Mariko thought. Her face was so hot she thought she'd explode. "Like that!" He let the shuriken free, and it sailed directly into the target's forehead. "Now you, Raiden-"_

_"I'm good." Raiden interrupted, scowling a bit._

_Akihiko frowned. "Uh, alright... Well, if you need any help, I'll be over there!"_

_"O-okay!" Mariko smiled._

_"Hmph..." Raiden mumbled sorely to himself._

_. . ._

_Soon Raiden had excelled in many areas, working hard every day at the expense of barely getting any sleep, his once playful mood turning into one of mood swings that included times of imatience and crankiness. As he got better, however, Mariko was left behind. She was a good student, but Raiden became a __prodigy. He began to understand things very well, and performed the tasks with even better expertise._

_And even though his fame as an aspiring ninja grew, along with his change in mood, he still cared deeply for his sibling, always sitting down for talks with her whenever she needed it. He even lied about his age (considering he was a year older) in order to stay in her class. _

_Soon they were separated into teams, and miraculously Mariko, Raiden, and Akihiko had all gotten into the same team. Raiden had graduated as one of the best in the class along with Akihiko, while Mariko was only in the average section. She didn't let this bother her; she knew it wasn't a competition, and that Raiden and Akihiko wouldn't treat her any differently._

_The two siblings grew, and aside from missions assigned to them that required them to go together, they had seen less and less of each other. They learned their affinities, and just when it seemed like Mariko had caught up, Raiden advanced another few steps again. With the decline in missions due to the oncoming peace, soon they rarely saw each other, the little conversations the had being quick, rushed, and coming off as forced. This was a hard time for Mariko also, for Akihiko hadn't been around in a while due to joining the Anbu Black Ops. Mariko and Raiden never even talked at home! It was only when Raiden began to sneak around that Mariko started to wonder what was going on with him._

_Raiden would sneak out at midnight suddenly, and then come home around dawn. Ironically when they began getting more missions again she noticed that he had grown exceptionally stronger, and, if it were even possible, he began to talk even less often than before. He became a jounin, and, while prospering, distanced himself from others, even his own sister. _

_Mariko decided that he might need some talking to from his teammates, considering all access to their parents and the Village of Coal were cut off (due to some circumstance uncle Rafu and aunt Kazue didn't clarify specifically), so she asked for any information on Akihiko._

_"Sorry Mariko-san, still no word." The information desk in the Hokage's office informed her yet again. "Thanks again," she faked a smile, "I appreciate it."_

_The words came out like she had practiced them over and over from an overused script. Things were all falling apart, slowly and surely, but Mariko would still keep hope. It's what mom would want, right? It's been oh so long since they've seen their parents. She wondered how they would react to Raiden's behavior now._

_Going home that night, she saw a shadow leap from their window, and down the dark allies of Konohagakure. Something made her snap that night, so when Raiden ventured out into the night, she pursued him._

_. . ._

_Following him had been harder than she had thought, his speed on a remarkable level. Whereas he would take leap on a tree, she would push three, all the while staying hidden from his senses. He stopped at a tree, and she stopped four trees behind his. He glanced around, and Mariko was almost completely sure that had it not been for the dark clouds that blanketed them from the moon's watchful eye, she would have been caught. But luck had been on her side that night. _

_He waited on that branch for a moment before a kunoichi appeared in front of him. She watched their conversation carry on, and when she heard a slight, light chuckle it finally dawned upon her; he had gone to the outskirts of the village to talk to a girl!_

_Mariko sighed quietly to herself with relief, and figured it was his girlfriend. Why had he been acting so strangely? All because of one girl? Were you that nervous about someone finding out Raiden!_

_Mariko held the urge to laugh and scream "So _this_ is what, or should i say, _who've_ you been hiding, huh Raiden?"_

_No, she'd confront him about in private. She wouldn't want to embarrass him in front of her, now would she._

_Another sigh of relief, and she turned to go back home. Raiden had scared her quite a bit. She was expecting some dark secret from her older brother. And the next day, she made the worst mistake of her life._

_. . ._

_Dawn had arrived, and just on time, Raiden walked in the room. Rafu and Kazue didn't really what Mariko and Raiden did at this point in their lives. It was kind of like.. they didn't care? But no, they were family; Mariko was sure that their aunt and uncle just trusted them with whatever choice they made._

_Raiden blinked when he saw Mariko laying in his bed. "Oh hi Raiden, I didn't see you there!" she unsuccessfully feigned innocence, giggles escaping her lips as she tried to keep them pressed shut. _

_"What are you doing, Mari-chan?" He sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose in aggravation._

_Mariko giggled silently to herself a bit louder this time. Raiden walked to the other side of the room to hang up his jounin flak jacket. He was in the process of taking off his shirt when he heard his sister's voice:_

_"Waiting for you to introduce me to your girlfriend, Raiden-san," she responded slyly, "I wonder if she's as shy as you are." Mariko smiled._

_Raiden's eyes narrowed. He had her back to her, so he had to be sure to make no sudden movements._

_"Girlfriend?" He asked in a low voice._

_"Yes. The one you were with last night. I won't tell anyone, I promise. I wish your trust in me were stronger than that, keeping secrets from your sister and all.." She sighed._

_Raiden nodded his head slowly and turned around, putting his shirt back on._

_"Yes, dearest sister, that's right. Tell me, how long have you known about my girlfriend?" Shadows concealed his face as he walked towards her._

_"Only for a day." She stared up at the ceiling, glad to put her worries all to rest. It was as if a weight had been lifted off her shoulders when Raiden's face appeared in front of hers. _

_"I see. Good." He smiled. He moved, and then it was pitch black._

_. . ._

_Mariko woke up sorely, dressed in clothes different from the ones she wore earlier._

_"R-Raiden?" She looked at the room she was in; she was on the bare floor of a locked cell, in what seemed like a cavern. There was a slight draft in here, and the white dress she wore was wet on the bottom due to a leak in the roof that created a puddle on the floor next to her feet. There was very dim lighting in here, and she wondered what time of day it was..._

_And how long she had been out._

_Footsteps clicked to the side of her cage, and just before she was about to cry for help she heard a familiar voice._

_"You're awake, I see." Raiden mused._

_"What is the meaning of this? Let me out this instant, Raiden!" She struck her arm out to hit the bars. She flinched at the pain but continued to stare at the direction she heard his voice bellow from. She was tired of all these games and whatnot. Just when she thought she was going to get closer to her brother once more, he does some stupid, weird dress up reenactment._

_"But sister, would you not like to have a talk first?" He clicked a flashlight to her face, "I particularly would like to know just what you observed that night. I am not a fan for surprises."_

_"Enough of this foolishness, Raiden. I demand you let me out." Her voice rose, her arms shielding her face from the blinding, intense light._

_"A-ah-ah!" He wiggled a finger, "That's not what you saw. Wrong answer."_

_"Is this really about some silly girl? For goodness sake, all I saw was you taking a small stroll." _

_"Sister, do not lie," His face became blank, devoid of all emoitons, "The agents have told me that they saw someone snooping in on our conversation. We are far away from the village. They probably have begun to suspect something has happened to us. You can be truthful now. It might be your last chance."_

_"Raiden—wait, what did you just say? How long have I been in here?" She touched her stomach, suddenly feeling an emptiness. Mariko was finally beginning to grasp the situation she was in._

_"There? Only two days, sister. Gone? That is but another matter to discuss. Later." His face changed into an awful, venomous grin._

_It dawned upon Mariko that this was not some silly prank. Something had happened to her beloved older brother. Had _changed_ him._

_"Raiden," She kept her voice from shaking. For the first time she felt fear towards him, actual bone rattling fear. "What is the meaning of this? What have you been doing?"_

_"I am only saving you and our parents. I have gotten a few bandits' companionship. I need only a month to have their complete trust. And you, sister, will indeed help me with that."_

_Mariko only stared at her brother. She knew that he knew what harm bandits had done to their home. Did he plan to get revenge by killing them all? To swarm them at a moment's notice, deceiving them while he was at their camps?_

_"And to save everyone," he whispered, "we need only to destroy."_

_He said "destroy" with such malice and force that she gasped, covering her mouth with her hand. He showed light on a mangled corpse on his right, and a chill ran through her bones, her heart seeming to stop along with the world around her. Not only was the person dead, but it was _him_. She couldn't take her eyes off of him, each second feeling like someone was taking a blade, plunging into her heart, twisting it around and wrenching it out._

_"A-Akihiko?" A soft cry escaped her already agape lips. Is this why there was no information on him? For so long? How long had he been dead? This couldn't be! This can't be real!_

_"Yes, only to destroy. By killing all the inhabitants of that town, we can savage what is left and use it to help our army. We will extinguish our town's flame as the last cry goes out, and will use it to..."_

_Mariko couldn't stand to hear the rest so she turned from her brother and lay on the cold floor, rocking back and forth in the fetal position. Subconsciously she began crying, the only indication being teardrops falling from her face and splashing on the ground. She should've noticed the change earlier. How could he have changed this drastically? The tears overflowed as he continued talking, and soon her vision was blurred. She did not know why she cried at the time, but now she was certain:_

_ That day she wept not only for Akihiko, or for the man who stood before her, who had probably committed the dastardly act; She wept for her dead brother, the one she had lost somewhere along the way. _

_Because the one in front of her was not him._

_Everything else didn't seem to phase Mariko. A man with a mask on his face came to her, and her memories had been altered. She began having visions, and the villagers had begun assaulting her family. And each night, for an unclear reason, she would shed a single tear. She wasn't sure, at the time, if it was because of the dreams, or the pain it caused. _

_But now she knew. She knew very well._

_* Flashback End *_

"Just tell me why, Raiden," She stared at the imposture standing in her brother's body, "Why did you do all of this?" There was a small plea in her voice, as if she were calling out to her brother whom lay deep down inside of that Raiden.

"All that I do is for you, sister, you and father and mother. Is there anything wrong with that?"

She stared at him again, her lips pursing into a tight frown. "Okay then, Raiden. I shall get the real answer."

She rose her hand, and a shallow shell of water formed around it.

"Sister," Raiden warned, "I do not advise this."

Mariko cupped the hand, and swung her arm to the left.

"Water Style," She thrusted the arm in front of her, "Water Shell Impact!"

The water flew at him, growing in size, until a large, open shell encompassed him. Raiden cursed and weaved through hand signs but it was too late; the technique was already on him. In an oyster-like appeared, the shell snapped shut on inpact impact and the water hardened. Not even a minute later, three poles of lightning shot out of the shell, the beams expanding in side until it burst.

"Mariko..." He said in a low voice "That could've hurt your dear brother. Good thing you're still weaker than me."

Raiden appeared behind her, placing his hand on her shoulder.

Mariko jerked away as Raiden chuckled. She flung her arm forward, and water flew out, slamming into Raiden's chest. He stumbled backwards from the force of the water and Mariko flipped into the air; Raiden looked up as she came down, thrusting her heel downwards to slam on his head.

Raiden shielded himself at the last second, blocking the his head from the kick. After a moment of letting the stinging and pain subdue, he twisted his arm and grabbed her foot. He then brought her leg overhead, dragging her body with it, and pulled her to the grass to slam her in the ground. Before she made contact with the ground, however, she shoved her hands on it and twisted her body; Raiden wasn't preparing for this, and as she twisted his legs went from underneath him. Mariko didn't miss a beat, pulling him closer and locking his neck with her legs, placing a kunai at his neck after successfully pinning him down.

"Give up Raiden!" she screamed, breathing heavily. It had been a long while since she was forced to fight in combat.

No reply. He made a hand seal and a bright light enveloped him. She turned her head and tightened her leg's grip on the neck, but before she knew it he was already gone, the feel of the body under her there no more. Instead, now there was a body that stood over here.

As she had expected, it was Raiden whom had appeared over her. He reached down and clutched her face roughly with his hand.

"Don't be afraid, dear sister. We still are related aren't we?"

"You killed him!" she yelled with all her might, "You killed him, and you knew i loved him. You knew!" She savagely bit into his hand. He yelled in anger and released his grip. She rose her knees to her chest, and thrusted out her feet, kicking him square in the chest; He flew for some seconds before he tumbled onto the ground, Mariko using this brief moment to wipe fresh tears from her face. Lightning sparked in both of his palms as he stood up.

He rose his mouth to speak, but before he could utter a single word water from the side shoved him into a tree. Mariko looked to the side to see what had happened, but her questions were quickly solved when a familiar white-haired shinobi appeared next to her.

"I don't know many moves to help you," Kaito admitted silently, "But i know enough to be useful."

It took a moment, but Mariko understood what he meant. He was offering his assistance no matter how little it would be in the fight. She was silently thankful for him, and she would be sure to tell him after the battle was over. And she would make sure that she had the chance to, for if someone in this battle had to die, she would make sure it was not Kaito.

"I understand." She nodded decisively.

Static sparked around Raiden's body as he staggered up, the crazed look on his face able to spark fear in the next generation of kids a thousand times over.

"I have had quite enough of you water users." He growled.

"Then why don't you try dealing with a fire user? We are _much_ more lively." Sora slid in front of them, his feet encased in wheels made from fire; the fire disappeared as he skidded to a halt. "Mariko, Kaito, go to the others and heal them. This guy is mine."

. . .

"Clown," Raiden glared, "you are not only a nuisance, but you also fail to amuse me with your silly attempts at jokes."

"Clown? Who me? I don't seem to see a resemblance..." Sora made three small orbs of fire and began juggling them. Though he did it partially for amusement, partially to annoy him, which seemed to be working immensely by the way, he also did it to buy time for Kaito and Mariko to go. They moved, but not after a moment of hesitation, grabbing Aoi and Hayato's bodies and vanishing to a safer location.

"I grow tired of you each second, buffoon." Raiden spat

"Really? For people around the same age, you sure do act as if I'm younger than you, kid. The difference is, I'm actually older." At that, the orbs flew; one on either side on him, and one hovering over him. He reared his arms back and clapped them together.

"Fire Style: Soul Flame, Trine Perfecta!" The orbs expanded and grew menacing faces on the fronts of them, the flame curling at its top.

Raiden looked at them with bewilderment and then fear before taking off to the trees. So Raiden had heard tales of Sora after all, Sora guessed. The three flames made a sort of ticking noise—it could only be assumed to be a laugh–before pursuing their target at dashing speeds. Sora turned and smiled before following them.

. . .

Mariko was tending to Hayato in no time. Kaito had been very quiet after his sensei left them. Mariko had wanted to say something, but Hayato's condition was more serious than she had thought, and required her full attention.

A while had passed, and when Hayato was in better condition, she said, "You know, healing was one of the first things I learned."

"Oh?" Kaito said absently.

"Yeah," she tried to continue, "It intrigued me. What interests you?"

"I dunno..." he said in the same tone.

After wrapping bandages around Hayato's stomach, she looked at Kaito.

"Kaito, I'd like to thank you."

This got his attention. He turned towards her as she scooted next to Aoi and began healing.

"For what?" He asked.

"I thanked you for just believing me. That clueless damsel you found could have easily have stayed that way for the rest of her life. But you, Kaito, trusted me, which in turn, saved me. Whether it was dumb luck or not, you did it. Any ideas on how I could repay you?"

Kaito's gaze was stuck on her like glue. Then he did something that would forever be engraved into Mariko's mind: He blushed, and made the cheesiest, most joy-filled smile she had ever seen.

Scratching his his snow white hair, he said, "I'm sure I'll think of something. I've got to warn you, though, the best ninja might not need anything." He smirked.

She suppressed a laugh.

"I will be sure to remember that."

. . .

Raiden narrowly dodged the technique as he made way into the open field he had met Sora earlier.

Sora jumped from the trees at an impressive height and clapped his hands together. Raiden backed up a safe distance from the jounin as he landed, slamming his palms into the ground.

"Fire Style: Five-Point Fire Ring!" Five small dots of red flared up around them. Raiden peered closer, and saw that they were coins heated to almost melting point. They all caught alight, and a fire burned in the coins that shot out to their sides, curving inwardly to touch another coin at either side of it. A searing flame rose, trapping both of them in a large ring of fire. The three orb beasts made of fire went into the flaming mass encircling the two ninja, disappearing from sight.

"Was this your plan?" Raiden yelled, "To trap us in this? So we could have a fight to choose the victor? I could easily destroy it."

"Really? But I provided so much room." He gestured to the large area inside the ring. "Some people are just so ungrateful. Did your mother teach you these manners?"

Raiden only scowled at Sora with deep loathing.

"Continuing," Sora went on, "Unless you've got some pretty good memory, you're not getting out of here. Those five lovely coins you saw earlier? Those are the five points that strengthen this small little technique of mine. Oh wait, that good memory won't do ya well here. The coins swirl with the flames, so they are never in the same position. Right now, this barrier is too powerful for you to try and destroy. Go on, I've got time to spare."

Raiden, without turning his gaze from Sora, stretched his arm out and shot a monstrous bolt of lightning at the swirling mass of flames. It struck, but the flames did not part. In fact, it seemed as if the flames grew _brighter_.

Raiden clenched his teeth together as he tried to keep his calm.

"I have no time for this, jester." He said through gritted teeth.

"Ah, then try your luck at the points. Five points and you win," Sora held up five fingers, "But I have no intention of you leaving here."

"Oh? And what do you think you can do to me? Your little coins will just get shot down." Raiden rose his chin up cockily.

"You should know that those coins are not my only weapon." Flames spewed from his hands and coiled up his arms.

"No matter, the end will be the same." Raiden rose his hand and lightning crackled in his palm.

Sora summoned wheels of fire to his feet, and sped towards the redhead. Jumping into the air and flipping, he roared, "Fire Style: Flame Wheel Jutsu!" His body was covered in flames as he spun down towards Raiden.

"Lightning Style: Thunder's Resonance!" Raiden thrust his fist lightning coated at the heap of flames, and the lightning disappeared, a silent shockwave launching at Sora. The techniques clashed, Sora driving against an invisible force. Raiden reared his fist back and used the technique over and over again, driving Sora back until he flew from the pressure. He turned in the air, and when he landed on the ground rolled smoothly to a halt.

Sora growled as Raiden yelled, "Lightning Style: Downstream Pulse!" and hurled his fist into the ground. Lightning shot out in large beams, heading towards the jounin.

Sora made six rapid hand seals. He kneaded chakra in his stomach, and released it:

"Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!" A massive orb of flames shot from his mouth, the poles of lightning being consumed as it flew to Raiden. The large explosion from the fireball obstructed Sora's view, but he sensed that the battle wasn't over.

Raiden appeared to his far right, his body smeared with ash. His rose his hand to the sky. His hand flared, and he summoned a fierce lightning so wild that it arced outwards, striking the ground at random. He charged recklessly at Sora, fueled by pure rage. Sora took a coin out and flicked it in the air, making a hand seal as it came in-between them.

"Coin Expansion!" Sora yelled, and a large smoke cloud blocked the two. A battle cry went out, and Raiden swung his fist into the smoke.

_DING!_

Raiden hit a large golden coin, barely denting the thing. His rage increased tenfold, and he poured more chakra into the technique, the lightning growing wilder and crashing into all areas behind him. The lightning struck the wall of fire and two large snaps could be heard. Hearing them Raiden cancelled the technique and jumped back to a safe distance.

"Hear that?" He yelled, "I think that was two of your little moving coins. That means I can get out of here!" He rose his hand and aimed his palm towards the sky.

"Destroyer's Bolt!" He screamed, and the sky flashed.

Sora swung his head up towards the dark sky. He hadn't noticed that more clouds had gathered. Lightning lit up their underbellies as thunder went off in continuous booms as if a drummer were going wild. The lightning seemed to surge in one spot, focusing above the two ninja. Before Sora could even attempt to stop him, a bolt compressed with all of the lightning it could gather shot at Raiden; or more specifically, his hand.

Another battle cry escaped his lips, and he propelled the lightning to hit the shield.

An indescribable sound pierced the forrest and what seemed like the world, as an intense light engulfed them. Sora moved the giant coin to shield him—And then the world was silent.

. . .

Sora shoved the giant piece of metal off of him, and gazed around the field.

The flames still roared proudly, licking the field that was singed beyond recovery. Raiden was on his knees, his fist dug deeply into the ground and his head bowed in defeat.

"Even... Even if technique wasn't strong enough to tear through, the coins should have made way for the blast... They should've been destroyed!" He punched the ground again, dirt flying in his face.

Sora coughed, clearing his throat from the dirt, ash, and smoke that now contaminated the already hot air.

"The soul flames, the orbs, I summoned earlier went into the fire. Though _normally_ the coins would have gone into the area of your technique, the other three were held in the mouths of the flames. They float along in the fire, so while the other two could only slide on the ground, the other three could travel both by air and ground. They cannot go outside of the ring of fire, nor could they come in, because that would disrupt the technique's formation. Once my creatures get a coin, they cannot leave it, because that would also throw off the techniques rhythm. It took me years to perfect this move."

Raiden looked up at the brunette, finally looking him in the eye.

"And you used it on me... You're oddly serious," he said, almost weakly, "Tell me, has anyone ever even broken out of this before?"

Sora nodded.

"Only two people." He decided to give him the answer.

Raiden didn't even try to get up, only stared at the jounin. The most peculiar thing about it was that there was no anger, no hatred in it.

"I am guessing I will not be the third one, Sora." Raiden glared. Sora was shocked that the missing-nin decided to call him by his name.

"You know my name, huh?" Sora stared back at him, "And no, Raiden, unfortunately you will not." Sora held his hand out. Fire spun around his palm.

"Flame Nunchaku." Sora whispered, and a nunchuck made from fire formed.

Raiden chuckled.

"You know, I originally planed to use that technique at a lower scale. Now i can't even move." He looked at the sky, accepting his face to be brought in.

"I'm sure that temper had something to do with it." Sora took a step forward.

"People always said it was his bad habit of his." A voice that rose over the flames whispered. Sora turned just as three more snaps went off.

The mighty flames were extinguished, and the man Sora saw the night they found Mariko appeared, a purple mask pressed firmly against his face.

"You have no idea how much I've been waiting to do this." Sora appeared in front of the man in a flash. Gripping the nunchucks tightly, he brought them down on his foe.

A millisecond before the weapon hit him, the masked man disappeared. Sora turned to see the man picking up a now unconscious Raiden. "Dammit, stop!" Sora rushed after him, but it was too late, and Sora was too slow from the amount of chakra he had already exerted.

And now, the masked man, and Raiden, were gone.


	10. C-rank Complete!

**Arc One, Chapter 10: C-rank Complete!**

"No." Kaito sweatdropped.

"But Kaito," Michio complained, "Why can't _I_ come with you?"

"You're not Shinobi material. Unlike me." Kaito posed.

"Loser!" Sora coughed.

"That's a bad cough." Kaito glared.

"I know. I should really get it checked out... I think we were out too long, the cold winds and all affecting me. Probably should give us a curfew!"

"Weren't you in a ring of fire?" Kaito deadpanned.

"Regardless." Sora waved.

Kaito and Sora were sitting in the waiting room of the town hospital. They brought Aoi and Hayato for treatment, and while few people shot silent glares at Mariko, she paid them no mind. She simply went into their rooms to help with the healing. After all, she was the only one who knew how to use medical ninjutsu.

Michio had followed them without his parents' knowledge, and was sure to get a firm scolding at home. Most of the villagers stayed inside of their houses, keeping their children with them, while others would only let their kids come out if they went with them. The squad of assassins had caused quite the scare in the village, regardless of Mariko dealing with them.

Since Mariko had regained her memories, she would be joining them on their return to Konoha. It was hard for Kaito to believe that they had been gone for over a week. He wondered how Ren and his team were faring.

Mariko came walking around the corner, taking the plastic gloves off of her hands.

"All they need now is a couple days of rest." She sighed, wiping beads of sweat from her forehead.

Both Kaito and Sora nodded at the good news.

Mariko rose an eyebrow.

"Only a nod? Is that really all the emotion you have to show?" She wondered incredulously.

They both shrugged.

She sighed. "O-oh well..." she said, and walked out of the shack. "Like student like sensei..." She mumbled to herself.

"W-wait, Mari-chan!" Kaito chased her.

"Hmm?" Mariko turned, untying her blond her from the ponytail it was previously placed in.

"Remember that, small little favor you said that you owed me?"

"Yes, I do." She smiled.

"Well, I'd, uh, appreciate if if you... um... Taught me some water moves? I mean, you don't have to if you don't want to... I'm still the best shinobi out there!" He tried to act tough half-heartedly. Mariko couldn't help but smiling. She loved this little goofy ninja...

She rose her hand to her chin and considered this.

"You know," she looked at Kaito closely, "I actually know a couple that would suit you well."

"G-great!" Kaito exclaimed, jumping into the air.

"Oh, but for _that _you show some emotion," she laughed, "Meet me by the lake when you're ready."

"Okay!" He grinned widely, "First I gotta check on Aoi and Hayato, then I'll meet up with you."

"No problem! I'll be there either way. See you soon, Kaito." She waved, walking away.

. . .

"You look _awful_." Kaito shook his head. Aoi and Hayato's bed were right next to each other, so luckily for them, they didn't have to go to two separate sections; the place was pretty empty, so the villagers didn't mind when Sora had offered the idea.

"Gee, thanks. I'm sure you'll make all the girls swoon with compliments like that." Aoi glared daggers. On the wooden stand in between their beds sat two cups of water, the one near Aoi halfway empty.

"Sorry, I call it how i see it..." He shrugged, smiling. This earned him a chop on his head from Sora.

"You look _fine_, Aoi." Sora said over Kaito's moans as he rolled on the floor, a large anime bump on his head.

"Thanks, sensei." Aoi smiled.

"No problem."

Aoi's forehead and wrists were wrapped in bandages. Hayato was still unconscious, though his color had returned along with Aoi's. They both had on light blue garments that fit them loosely. They obviously didn't have any hospital attire for kids in the Land of Coal...

"So what are you guys gonna do to occupy yourselves?" Aoi asked.

Sora shrugged, ruffling her hair.

"I'm sure we'll figure something out."

"Huh, we?" Kaito stood up, "Sorry, but this cat has a date, and I can't afford to be late." He grinned widely. "You're on your own, Sora-sensei!"

"Oh?"

"Yup. It was only a matter of time." Kaito sighed.

'Mmph." Aoi muttered. "I don't believe it."

"Yeah yeah yeah. And since you guys are alright... See'ya!" He ran out of the room.

. . .

A while later, Aoi decided to ask a question that had been nagging her since Kaito left.

"Sensei?"

"Hm? Yes, Aoi?"

"What's he going to do?"

"I think I overheard him say he was going to train or something."

"Okay, _that_ makes more sense."

. . .

Two days had passed fairly quickly, Kaito's progress going very smoothly under Mariko's tutelage. Not only had he learned new techniques, but he improved on the ones he already learned. Sora stayed with his two genin until visiting hours were over; Kaito would come near the evenings, drenched in water—or was that sweat?—when he came. Forutnately for him, on the second day, Kaito came back the exact hour Hayato had woken up. It wasn't a verbose reunion, nor was it a chatty reunion at that, but it was still nice to see their friend up and running again! By the time Aoi and Hayato were released, Marmoru and Rika had already packed the ninjas' bags so they wouldn't have to go to the trouble. While normally this would have been seen as rude and looked at they can't wait for the ninjas to leave, you could tell that they wanted to do something to help by the look in their eyes.

"It was the least we could do." They had said.

"Thanks Mamoru and Rika. We really appreciate it." Sora bowed, and the rest of his team followed him. Mariko appeared behind her parents, her height shorter than her father but a bit taller than her mother.

"Oh," Rika smiled, "Believe me, if we could do more, we would. You reunited us with Mariko again. We can never pay you back for that."

"If you all ever need a place to stay," Mamoru nodded, "Even for a chat or anything, our home is always open to you."

Kaito grabbed his chest and felt his heartbeat. He was actually making a change already! It was only a matter of time...

He looked up at the sky wistfully.

"Father... Mother..." He whispered under his breath. "Soon!"

. . .

The day they decided to leave, the town's fire had been relit in a huge ceremony. There was a feast of food, free accessories being sold, and all other sorts of grand things that Kaito had to miss. Yes, he was missing the biggest party he might ever have been invited to, just to go in a humid forrest where the torrid sun annoyed him to no end.

They left Mamoru's residence after a tearful depart, Rika holding on to Mariko in the longest farewell hug Kaito had ever witnessed. It was painful to watch, the parents already going through so much the last time Mariko went to Konoha. Tears were going down both the mother and the daughter's face, and if Kaito didn't watch it, tears would soon be welling up in his eyes also.

As planned, Mariko had to come with them. She would request to be able to come back and live in the Land of the Coal, but if not she would still visit occasionally. Rika and Mamoru had made Mariko promise not to go on any vengeance sprees when she saw her uncle and aunt. They didn't want their family to repeat itself over and over with sibling hate.

After leaving the house, the band of ninjas walked to the village's entrance—where a crowd of villagers stood in wait.

The chief elder stood in the front.

"Mariko," he started, "We would like to apologize for our rude actions. Though no words can make up for we've done and how rude and ignorant we were, we would like to start out by saying we are sorry."

Mariko blinked at all of the solemn faces before her. Kaito could see that she was trying to hold back something.

She brushed the hair from her face and said, "I-it's okay. All is forgiven." with a truly sincere smile.

As they walked through the crowd and out of the village, a firework went off. The group turned to look back at the village, where a huge volley of dark fireworks were lighting up the dawn sky. But these fireworks were difference; they came from a small, cup-like contraption, a stick with a string at the bottom that they used to fire it. For some reason, the only color that was going off was blackish purple.

Kaito saw Mariko's lips curl into another smile.

As if knowing what they were about to ask, she told them, "These are fireworks that every resident of the Coal get at fifteen. It was rumored that you can only ignite from the inside when you truly feel the emotion from the bottom of your heart, every other attempt to use the firework uneffective. The blue flames mean the birth of a new child or prosperous crops or fish. The red one means the death of a loved one or favored one, and the purple..." She wiped a tear from her eye, "The purple means deep regret, or safe journeys. I never believed that you had to truly mean it to use them, but this day, I think that might be the case."

"I'm sure it is the case, Mariko." Sora patted her back. "We'll make sure you come back here Mariko. We promise."

Mariko looked to Kaito, then to Aoi, and finally Hayato, all of them nodding in agreement.

"Yeah," She wiped another tear from her eye, looking back to the village on last time, "I know you will."

. . .

The five Shinobi had been walking all throughout the morning, and into the evening. Around the time they came close to Konoha, the sun beamed so brightly it felt as if the sun were glaring at them for walking in its radiance. Approaching the village's gate, they heard a noise.

"Anyone hear that?" Kaito looked around.

"Yeah... It sounds like..." Aoi started.

"Barking." Hayato said. Even he was looking around.

"A wild dog? Out here? Has the village changed that much?" Mariko asked Sora.

"No, this is a first. Even for me."

"Unless it's a dog that ran from its owner..." Kaito shivered, the thought bringing up bad memories of Old Man Sen.

As if on cue, a small little dark gray pup that resembled a husky came out, wagging its tail happily. It turned its attention to Kaito and his group, and began barking. Hayato bravely walked up to it.

"Uh, Hayato—" Aoi warned, but it was too late; he already bent down to pet the pup. Almost instantly the dog licked his hand affectionately, and tried to climb on him. He chuckled—yes, Hayato, the one who showed _no_ emotion whatsoever _chuckled!_—and picked the husky up, holding him up to his face and touching their noses together.

"Re-san~!" A feminine voice yelled somewhere in the forrest, pronouncing it as "Ray-san".

"Re-san! Where are you?"

A girl came out of the bushes, standing before the group of five. Somehow, though, she only zoomed in on the dog.

"Re-san!" She yelled, smiling.

The pup barked, and jumped out of Hayato's cupped palms, running to his owner.

"Found him?" Two boys followed her, a kunoichi behind them. "Hmm? Who are they?" The boy asked.

"Sora? Is that you?" The lady of the group, a jounin Kaito assumed, gasped.

"Ugh, Hello Shirai-san..."

"Who are they, Shirai-senpai?" asked the girl.

"Team 11," Aoi answered, "And you?"

"Team 12. Hibiki Hyuga." The boy who was silent so far introduced them. He wore mesh armor and a dull blue top under a white long-sleeved shirt with the Hyuga emblem sewn onto it. The right sleeve's trimming was brown while the left sleeve was torn off at the shoulder, revealing his bandaged arm. He had dark brown shorts and black Shinobi sandals. In fact, as Kaito looked, he also had bandages on his right leg. His hair was fairly long, reaching to the middle of his back where it was tied in a low ponytail near the tip. He let some of his hair hang down on the left side of his face, also tied loosely. His headband was wrapped around his forehead.

"Jin Oshiro." the boy who was talking earlier nodded. He donned an open robe thrown over a black keikogi top with golden dragons decorating the trimmings. The robe was a liquid dark green, shades of black splashed on it to make it look similar to a painting of a wild jungle. He had solid golden eyes, chocolate brown skin, and green hair that matched the color of his robe. His hair was neither shaggy or spiky; it was a type of greased, almost tousled look. He had a large golden bracelet wrapped around his right arm that seemed to be around 3-4 inches long, a golden belt looped through dark gray, almost black sweatpants, and some blue Shinobi sandals. The Konohagakure headband was sewn into the shoulder of the black top.

"Kaori Inuzuka." She replied happily. She had her long brown hair in a ponytail, with hair framing the sides of her face. Her eyes were large and black, her forehead protector wrapped around her neck. She donned a gray t-shirt with mesh under a black vest jacket with a clip-on hood, dark grayish pants, and black ninja sandals. Her most distinctive features were her pronounced canine teeth, and red fang markings of the Inuzuka clan on her cheeks. "And this is Goremaru." She gestured to the dog circling her legs.

"Kaito Koizumi!" He swiped his thumb over his nose.

"Aoi Suzuki, nice to meet you." She bowed, and almost tipped over when the weight of her bag shifted.

"Hayato Maki." He said quietly.

"Mariko Imada, it's a pleasure to meet you." The blonde bowed.

"Sora-chan~!" A voice moaned behind Kaito. He turned, and saw Team 12's jounin glomping onto Sora, who was trying his best to pry her off of him.

"And I'm.. Sora.. Hayabusa—WILL YOU GET OFF OF ME?" With one final push, she shoved her off of him, throwing her onto the soft green grass.

"Sora-chan, you're so mean," She rested her cheek on her palm, making a pouting face, "Playing hard to get like that."

A tic mark appeared on Sora's head.

Shirai got up, dusting herself off.

"Shirai Iseki, as of the moment. Shirai Hayabusa soon." She winked at Sora, and he shivered inwardly. The woman had long and beautiful red hair, her eyes a steely gray. She sported the standard Konohagakure jounin attire; slices of red added to the blue full-body suit, which was modified to reveal her ample cleavage. Even her flak jacket was zipped halfway.

"What brings you out here, Sora?" Shirai asked him.

Sora raked a hand through his hair.

"We were just about to tell the Hokage about our finished mission. We've got some things to report, so if you don't mind..."

"For you, Sora? Anything. Before you leave, is your team entering the upcoming Chun-"

"Haven't told them about it yet, talk to you later, bye!" Sora rushed, shoving the group into the village.

"Uh, nice to meet you too?" Jin blinked.

. . .

"Hokage-sama?" Sora and his team entered. The wide room was full of clones, each signing papers at different sections of the room. The Naruto at the desk looked up while the others continued. Sakura was beside him, looking over his shoulder at the papers. Sora guessed that Sakura was still volunteering to help whenever her daughter, Sarada, was busy doing something.

"Yes?"

The jounin cleared his throat.

"I've got some things to report."

"Oh?" Sakura said, looking up at Mariko.

Naruto made a handseal, and all the clones disappeared in a wad of smoke.

"Go on." Naruto said.

Sora told them everything. He told them about the bandits on their way to the Coal, finding a Mariko with altered memories, the people in the robes, Raiden, and finally the masked man whom seemed to be behind it all.

This all sounded disturbing to Sakura and Naruto, and they asked for more information, even from the kids occasionally. They went along with the requests without any resistance, answering truthfully and honestly. Mariko was the only one to remain silent the whole time.

After taking a moment to consider all things, Naruto sighed. He looked towards Sakura, and she looked back. A silent conversation took place between the two, and when it ended, Sakura spoke:

"Mariko Imada, you were marked a missing-nin along with your brother, Raiden Imada. As such, you will be interrogated by the Anbu. After that, we will decide what you will do next."

"If I may suggest something," Sora rose his hand, "If the interrogation and everything goes well, can she and a select few of Shinobi be stationed at the Land of Coal? They would not only live there, but would provide services to the village, and protect them. The rising circumstance of the village due to the bandits' intervention is becoming a pressing matter that needs to be handled. With these Shinobi, it would be more than enough to stop a few bandits."

Mariko stared at Sora with astonishment at the bold request.

"Pardon me if I were rude." He bowed.

Before Sakura could speak, Naruto smiled and said "If all goes well, I don't see why she, I mean they, can't go." He winked at the group.

Mariko nodded.

"Thank you very much." Mariko held back the urge to smile. She would finally be able to go back. And _stay_ at that!

"Okay, then. I'll escort her while you," Sakura thrusted her finger at Naruto, "Finish the documents."

She turned her back to him and he made a mocking face, earning a snicker from Kaito.

Sakura looked suspiciously at Kaito, then to Naruto, before both her and Mariko exited the room.

"You are dismissed." Naruto waved, still smiling.

They bowed and left the office.

'_I think I like this Hokage._' Kaito thought to himself.

. . .

Walking outside the office, the team stopped in the narrow hallway on Sora's command. He dug into his pocket and handed each of them an envelope.

"What's this?" Aoi turned to their sensei, who was scratching the back of his head.

"It's your reward..."

"What! Really?" Kaito ripped his envelope open—Only to find that it was only half of their promised reward.

Staying calm, Kaito looked at Sora.

"I hate you so much." He eye-smiled.

"Aww, this brings back good memories." He ruffled Kaito's hair. Kaito glared and cursed viciously under his breath.

Team 11 walked out of the mansion to see Team 12 yet again.

"Oh? _Sora_? What a coincidence! Who would have thought we'd meet each other _again_! It's almost as if the fates wanted us together." Shirai sighed, staring wistfully at the jounin.

"What? Shi-san, you told us to stalk-" Jin started.

"_Jin!_" She glared fiercely at the genin, shutting him up in an instant. Kaori was too absorbed playing with her dog that she barely greeted the others. Hibiki was the only one to wave at them, smiling warmly before returning to feeding birds with bits of bread.

"Just excuse him," Shirai dismissed it with a wave, "he has such a wild imagination. Don't you, Jin?"

"Y-yes ma'am..." He looked down.

"Uh... yeah..." Sora said nervously, backing up slowly.

Aoi looked around; she didn't know who to strike up a conversation with.

That's when Goremaru barked and ran to Hayato's feet. Hayato, who usually didn't show any emotion towards things, happily picked up the pup.

"You like dogs, hm?" Kaori walked up to him.

Hayato shrugged.

"Hm? Hello? Are you there? Is he mute?" She asked a frenzy of questions. Hayato simply glanced her way once, and then went back to playing with the dog.

Jin walked over, shoving his hands into his pockets.

"I hate that mutt." He snarled.

The dog turned in Hayato's cupped palms and growled.

"It seems like he hates you, too." Aoi chuckled, moving to pet the dog.

Jin looked to Kaito.

"Why don't you wanna pet him?"

"Eh, dogs usually don't like me..." Kaito thought of one of their first missions and shivered.

Jiin shrugged and said, "Whatever you say."

"Sora, are you going to tell them, or will I?" Shirai narrowed her gaze on the kids.

"I'll tell 'em," He sat on a nearby bench, "Shrimps, other kids, have you ever heard of the Chunin Exams?"

Before they could answer, he said "Great," and continued.

"I've already volunteered you guys. A simple clone can do wonders."

"As did I. The Exams are soon, so I advise you all get to know each other, and to prepare yourselves. That includes getting accustomed to each other. You never know when you'll need an alliance." Shirai pointed out.

"When are they?" Kaito asked Sora.

"Uh, in a week or so... There was a minor setback. Just be ready by then. I didn't volunteer you to lose."

"Is that a challenge?" Shirai gave Sora a slight glance.

"It is what is is." He shrugged innocently.

"Then let the contest of love begin!" She shouted suddenly, scaring the genin in front of her.

"Wait, what-"

"Let's go, team, I—_we_, must not lose this battle!"

She marched off, and after a quick wave, Kaori and Jin followed, Jin yanking Hibiki away from the birds.

Sora slapped his forehead.

"That is _not_ what I meant." He sighed irritably.

"You can't beat a woman's love." Kaito chuckled.

"Yeah, but three genin will, because we _will_ win. Otherwise I'll never hear the end of that woman's mouth."

* * *

><p><strong>AN: This wraps up Arc One, and Arc Two is up next! Thanks to those who stayed along for this ride, but it's not over yet; Next is Arc Two: The Chunin Exams!**


	11. The Chunin Exams Begin

**Arc Two: Chunin Exams, Chapter One: The Chunin Exams Begin**

"Kaito! Kaito! I know you're in there." Hard knocks beat his door senseless as the genin put his clothes on.

"I'm coming!" he said, though with a mouth full of toothpaste, it probably sounded like a sickening gargle.

He spit the white liquid out of his mouth and into the sink, letting the water from the faucet drag it down the drain. Throwing his toothbrush into the drawer, Kaito slipped his sandals on and ran out the house.

An irritated Hayato and Aoi stood waiting on his porch.

"Where's your pass?" Aoi held hers up.

"Uh, be right back!" He ran back inside as Aoi sighed. It was a sunny day, few clouds in the marvelous blue sky. Kaito was tired, but at the same time giddy with excitement. Over the past few days, he had practiced the techniques Mariko taught him and found better ways to use them. He was sure he could past the tests. The only competition Kaito had to worry about, he thought, was Ren.

Coming back out, he showed her the pass.

"Alright, then we're ready. With an hour to spare!" She grinned happily.

"How do you know? You don't even have a clock."

"You left your door open. I can see the clock." She pointed behind him.

"Dammit!" He slammed the door shut, locking it with keys he kept in his shuriken pouch. Walking to the Academy, they saw a lot of ninja in the streets. Each were conversing with each other and casting dirty looks at others.

"Hey, don't you ever fear you might throw you keys at someone?"

"Well, I keep it in a special compartment inside of the pouch. It's never happened before, but that's probably because I'm the best ninja around."

"Mmmhm." She rolled her eyes.

In no time they were at the Academy.

"Okay," Aoi looked around, "Sora said room 301... This way!" She pointed, walking along the polished wood floor. As they made their way to the room, they saw other genin from different villages; Kirigakure, Sunagakure, Amegakure, Kaito was so excited he thought he saw all villages' headbands.

"Here it is." Aoi gulped, standing in front of two large doors.

Kaito looked at both of his teammates. It was clear that Aoi was nervous, because after she saw the door, she would occasionally look to her feet. Hayato didn't show any emotion at all, so, as Kaito usually did, he assumed he didn't care.

"You okay, Aoi?" He walked next to her.

She glanced his way and smiled.

"Yeah, just worried about everything. I wonder what type of exam it's going to be..."

"We won't know until we open the doors, will we?"

Hayato walked up to her side and nodded in agreement.

"Alright, then. Let's not keep them waiting."

The trio opened the door and took their first steps into the room.

They were greeted to a very impolite welcome.

. . .

The room's attention turned to the three rookies, followed by hungry glares. There was an unspoken rule that told Aoi not to speak with any of the other participants. Not even air whispered in the still room as time seemed to freeze for her and her teammates.

"Hey," a kid sitting on the desk called out to her. She noticed that instead of a cheerful greeting, it was more of a street slang sort of way. This caused the stiffness from Aoi's body to leave, annoyance filling its place.

Before she could say, "What?" irritably, she looked at the boy and stared.

He sat in a slouched position on the desk, almost carefree in the room filled with deadly shinobi.

"It's you." He raised a finger to point at her.

"You!" Aoi replied. Aoi could see from the corner of her eyes that Kaito was confused, but she couldn't answer his question at the moment; she didn't know this guy was a ninja!

He propped himself on his elbows, got off the desk and walked towards her. When he neared her, he looked at the two at her side, but said nothing.

"I think I deserve a little more than 'it's you', don't you think?"

He scratched his head at this. "I dunno, sorry, I guess." he muttered.

"No problem. I didn't catch your name the last time." Aoi said.

"Aiko. Aiko Seiken." He looked the exact same as she remembered him; Aiko was a pale blond with the brightest green eyes she had ever seen. He had a black unzipped jacket with a dull gray shirt and mesh armor underneath. He had black pants and black shinobi sandals. A sheathed katana was held in a strap wrapped around his waist.

"Aoi Suzuki." She smiled.

"Wow, you actually got him to apologize for something," a girl said, walking up to them, "This is a rare moment indeed."

"Ah, Shika, don't tease him." A boy joined her.

"Shika Nara," She bowed. She had long dark brown hair kept tied back in a small spiky ponytail, flat bangs hanging to the right side of her face. She sported a small light gray jacket over a gray shirt and mesh armor, the jacket stopping to her stomach. She sported blue shorts and gray sandals with a tint of green. She rose and adjusted the slightly oval-sized glasses on her face.

"Naoki." he smirked. He had fiery red hair and blue eyes. Naoki donned a bright short-sleeved orange robe with black trimmings, black sports, and red sandals, both his arms and legs covered in white bandages.

"Kaito!" Kaito joined in, seizing the opportunity to join the conversation.

"Hayato." He nodded at them.

"I didn't know you were a ninja!" Aoi told Aiko.

"I should've guessed you were. You're one of the rookies, aren't you?" Aiko looked at their team.

"I guess so." She smiled back at her teammates.

"Kaito!" another group came their way.

"Ren!" Kaito exclaimed, fist-bumping his best friend. Ren had a light green long-sleeved robe-like shirt over his usual attire.

Emi was behind Takehiro this time, still glancing sheepishly at Hayato. Though Takehiro wouldn't dare to go near the others, he certainly seemed to be considering making new clients.

Soon Team 12 came through the doors and walked over to the group.

"Yo!" Jin walked in front of his teammates. "Hey! Shika-san's here." He smirked and walked near her.

Shika held a hand up. "I'm older than you. It wouldn't work out." She sweatdropped.

Jin shrugged. "Doesn't hurt to try, ne?"

"Hey Emi." Naoki walked over to Takehiro and Emi.

"H-hi Naoki-san."

"Naoki! Have you decided about my explosive collection yet? Act now and you get the chain free!" Takehiro was about to unzip his jacket when the redhead stopped him.

"Eh, I'm fine..." He sweatdropped.

"You know, I'm starting to hear that more and more nowadays..." He shook his head.

"I see you're getting through to him." Naoki turned back to Emi.

She smiled at this.

"Yes, though he can't remember everything yet. He almost gave a 'flashing set' to a customer who wanted a simple kunai." She shook her head.

"It's his fault. Who just wants one kunai? That's lousy."

"Take-san," she pronounced it as "tak-eh-san", "He just didn't know how to say no to you. Just like so many other people." She smiled, sweatdropping.

"Hayato! Look who I brought today!" She brought out Goremaru, and his tail wagged with excitement as he saw Hayato. Hayato, who hadn't been excited about anything that day, immediately began playing with the dog.

Kaito and Ren were conversing about their first C-rank missions.

"Really?" Ren blinked, "All that happened? Is that girl still in Konoha?"

"I don't know," Kaito admitted, "But I'm pretty sure if she is, she won't be for long. When we were alone, she'd always tell me about how much she loved her home. She said she was excited about her visions, just for the reason that she could prevent bad things from happening. Enough about mine, you fought with _shadows_?" Kaito said awestruck.

"Yeah, it was pretty cool," Ren nodded, "Suddenly there was a shadow on the enemy, and then they froze. It made rescuing the stolen animals a lot more easier."

Aiko looked at all of the genin before him.

"This is this year's rookie 9. You know I'm a year ahead of ya, right?" He rose an eyebrow.

"Hmm," she touched her lip with a finger, "Do years really matter? I think intelligence is where it's at." She tapped her head.

Aiko shrugged. "We'll see. This is my first time taking this exam. Can't help you out on anything."

"I wouldn't have it any other way."

_Poof!_

"Sorry to keep you waiting," A voice boomed in the smoke, "I'm Ibiki Morino, proctor for the first test of the Chunin Exams."

A large man in black appeared, a group of ninja in gray behind him.

"First things first to those of you who want to fight; there will be no battles, competitions, and the like without the permission of the proctors. And even if you get permission, actions that could lead to the death of an opponent will not be permitted. Any pig that screws with me will be disqualified immediately." He cast a glare that silenced any small murmurs that were going around. "Got it?

"Now then, we will start the first test of the Chunin Exam! Turn in your applications, take one of these number cards in exchange," he showed a card with the number 1 on it, "and sit in the seat matching that number! After that, we will hand out the paper for the written test."

"A paper test?" Aoi heard Kaito mutter. She had to agree, this wasn't what she expected.

After doing what the proctor asked, everyone was scattered to different seats. Ibiki hit the chalkboard with a piece of chalk, gathering everyone's attention. "There are several important rules to this first test. I will take no questions, so listen well accordingly! First off is the first rule," he began writing on the board, "You are given ten points each from the start. The written test has ten problems in all, each problem being one point. This test is a point deduction system. You are deducted one point for each problem wrong. If you get three wrong, you'll have seven points.

"The second rule is," he turned to the room, "Pass or failure will be determined by the total points of the three-person teams. And the final rule is: those who are deemed by the sentinels as having committed an act of cheating or something similar to that...

"Will have two points deducted for each act. In other words, there may be those who will be dismissed during this test without waiting for test grading.

'_So they deduct points from things other than the written test problems..._' Aoi thought.

"Know that those who commit awkward cheating will bring ruin upon yourselves. If you aspire to become a Chunin at all, know that Shinobi should act like exemplary Shinobi. And, in the case of even one person on the team getting zero points, everyone on that team will fail.

"What!?' An kid in the group of genin shouted. Ibiki ignored this and continued.

"The last problem will be given forty-five minutes after the start of the test; the time for the test is one hour."  
>In the moment of silenced that followed, the ticking of the clock seemed to intensify by each second, as if a microphone got closer each click. An hour seemed to pass until a loud click rung in the still room.<p>

"Begin!" The proctor yelled. Everyone flipped their tests.

. . .

Hayato had quickly realized that this isn't just any achievement test; the real aim of the test was to see the ability for intensive information collection with the full use of deception and concealment techniques.

In other words, the true intention of the proctor is, if you're going to cheat, just don't get caught, like an "exemplary shinobi". Viewed in this light, the point deduction system made sense, also explaining the leniency of only deducting two points if and when caught. What's being tested here is how they can gather the correct answers without having our cheating detected by the proctors or by the one being cheated on. For this reason, Hayato was sure that someone in here had the answers, but he didn't need that person.

He'd figure it out by himself.

Hayato looked up at the clock and smirked to himself. The clock had been slightly adjusted, and was being controlled by very thin, almost invisible strings. Hayato knew that quite a degree of skill with wires was required to do such a thing a not get caught. Out of curiosity, he took his headband and aimed at at the clock; he was very shocked to see that Takehiro was behind the strings, controlling it with only one hand while writing answers with the others. Takehiro wasn't the only one cheating; Kaori's dog was gathering information and barking, somehow communicating with its owner that way.

Hibiki began using Byakugan, and Hayato assumed he could see answers. Hayato decided he'd use Takehiro's trick to his own advantage, and began using the reflection from his headband to answer questions. He wondered how Kaito was doing.

. . .

Kaito smiled giddily to himself. Thanks to the armor around his arm warmers, he could see his neighbors' answers through the reflections. Unfortunately for him, after answering his third question, the chunin in gray began calling numbers, telling the student next to him to go out with his teammates. After that, numerous numbers were called in what seemed like a chain, proctors grabbing resisting students and dragging them out of the class.**  
><strong>

Hayato was in the row behind him, to the far right, and Aoi was two rows behind him. Now that Kaito had no one to copy off of, he began to get bored. Eventually he got tired and rubbed his eyes.

'_Just for a second_,' he told himself, '_I'll close my eyes just for a second._'

As he lay his head down, a voice jerked him awake.

"Number 34." He said, staring right at Kaito.

"Eh?" Kaito blinked.

The chunin smirked, and then said, "My mistake, number 44."

"What!? I didn't do anything!" A genin behind said, marching out of the room angrily.

Well _that_ woke Kaito up.

"Alright, here is the tenth question," Ibiki's voice rose from the front of the room, "But before we start, I'm going to add some rules for the final question. These are... the hopeless rules."

. . .

"First, you all will have to choose whether or not you will take this 10th question. If you choose not to take the exam, then your score will be zero. In other words, you fail. And of course, the same goes for the two others in the same group. And, one more rule; if you choose to take it and are unable to answer it correctly, then you will have to...

"Relinquish your right of taking the Chunin Exam forever. Then, let's begin. The 10th question. Those who will not be taking it, raise your hands! Once I confirm your number, I'll ask you to leave."

At first, no one rose their hand. Then, finally one after one, ninja broke; a kid next to Aoi rose his hand, and violent curses escaped from his teammates' mouthes. Aoi got nervous as more and more teams left. She answered every question except one, so she was safe. She couldn't see Kaito because of the people behind him, but she could see Hayato who flipping his pencil in the air idly. Aoi was sure her teammates wouldn't quit, but was worried they didn't score enough points. How many points was needed to score again?

"I'll ask again. This is a choice that will alter your life; if you want to quit, now is your chance!"

"Hey Kaito, aren't you gonna quit now?" Ren said two seats across from Aoi.

"You wish!" A voice retorted, "I thought you'd get out first."

"I can't get out before you, that'd mean I was a weak ninja." Ren smiled.

"Guess all those other kids were weak ninja, huh?"

At this, ninja who raised their hands only a moment before yanked them down. Aoi could already tell their pride stood in the way. Aoi herself was sure she wouldn't like to get beaten by a rookie ninja, and with Kaito's goofy appearance, she was sure that it had doubled for them.

Apparently Ibiki caught this too, as a solid five minutes had passed since anyone rose their hand. Everyone's eyes were set on the proctor, almost daring him to give them the final question. Yes, everyone, including Aoi, was ready for it.

"Then, for those who are still here," Ibiki continued, "The first exam...

"You have passed it!" The man grinned.

Everyone in the room blinked.

"Wait, what about the tenth question?" Aoi had been thinking of potential questions, so this was definitely a let-down. I mean, sure, if she's glad that there wasn't one, but imagine if all those other kids hadn't quit. there would've been, like, 90 teams to go against!

Ibiki chuckled.

"There wasn't such a thing to begin with!" The proctor laughed, a large grin plastered across his face, "You can look at the choice you just had to make as the 10th question!"

"But what about the other nine questions?" Shika asked, "Don't you still have to check them?"

"The objective of the nine questions were already accomplished: to test your individual ability to gather information. First, the focus of the test was on the system of determining the pass or failure based on the three-person groups that was proposed in the first rule. By grading the exam on a group basis, I added the unimaginable pressure of dragging down your teammates.  
>"Second, the questions on these tests weren't things that you genin would have been able to solve. So in that case, I imagined that most of you here would have come to this conclusion: 'In order to score points, I'll have to cheat.'<br>In other words, this exam was created under the premise that you all would cheat. That being said, I had two Chunin in the group who knew all of the answers from whom you could cheat. However, those who just foolishly cheated, naturally were disqualified. That's because information, depending on the time and situation, will be more valuable than life. In a mission or on a battlefield," Ibiki removed his headband, revealing his horribly burned, nail punctured and scarred head, "you will always have to risk your life to fight for it. When information is gathered and the enemy or a third party finds out about it, that information is no longer guaranteed to be correct. Just remember this," Ibiki put his headband back on before continuing.  
>"To be given the wrong information can bring a catastrophic blow to your friends and town. So that is why, out of necessity, we forced you all to cheat in order to test your ability to collect information. And we filtered out those who were clearly lacking in those abilities. However, this 10th question was the main issue of this first exam."<p>

"Whah?" Jin said from somewhere in the classroom.

"I'll explain," Ibiki sighed, "The tenth question was to take on the question, or not. Needless to say, it is a painful decision to make. Those who chose not to take on the question would be immediately failed along with their whole squad. Those who chose to answer the question and got it wrong would be robbed of their chance to take the Exam forever. It really is an unfair question.

"Then, how about these two choices? Let's say that you guys did become Chunin. The mission is to steal a secret document! You have no idea how many ninja the enemy has, their ability, and other armament they may have. On top of that, there may be the pitfall of an enemy trap. Now this mission... Will you take it? Or not take it? Because you want your life spared, because your parents will be put in danger, can you get away from dangerous missions?

"The answer is... No!" He sternly told them, "There are going to be missions you cannot avoid no matter how risky or dangerous it may be. Showing your courage to your teammates in a tight spot, and the ability to get through the hardships...

"_This_ is the quality that is needed in a Chunin troop leader! In a pinch, there are those who cannot risk their own fate, and those who waver and give up their chances because they think they will have another chance. I believe that such fools who don't have strong determination have no right to become a Chunin!

"For those of you who chose to take on this question, you can say that you have successfully answered the difficult 10th question! You shall be able to take on the adversity that may lie in your way. You've passed through the gates. The first exam for the Chunin Exams... has been completed!

"I wish you all well!"

Ibiki's attention turned to the window. At first, the students were wondering what he was doing, but then a cloaked figure burst through the glass window, kunai flying from its hands and stabbing the roof, attached to them the ends of the cloak. A black-haired lady dressed in a tan overcoat with a puple in-seam, a mesh body suit that stretched from her neck down to her thighs, a dark orange mini-skirt, black sandals and shin guards skidded to a halt.

"You guys, this isn't the time to be celebrating!," she gestured to the banner behind her, "I'm the proctor for the second exam, Anko Mitarashi! Let's move onto the next stage! Next!"

She pumped her fist in the air enthusiastically.

"Follow me!"

"Yeah!" Kaito stood up in the same stance.

Everyone stared dumbfounded at the woman, clearly at a lost for words. Aoi sighed as Kaito tried to gesture for others to join him.

Aoi thrust her finger at Kaito. "I like you!" She explained.

Ibiki stepped from behind the banner and said, "Again, read the atmosphere."

Anko blushed and glared ruefully to no one in particular.

"69?! This time it's 23 teams that slid by! Again, you made the first exam easy."

"It seems like, again, there are a lot of excellent candidates."

"Huh! Another case of _them_ again? Well, alright... I'll still drop more than half of them in the second exam."

"M-more than half!?" Emi stuttered.

"Ah, I haven't been excited in so long. I'll give you the details tomorrow. We'll be changing locations, so get information from your jounin/jonin about the location and the time. That's it! You're dismissed."

. . .

"What is this place?" Kaori gawked. She looked down to her pet dog. "This is not a peeing ground, okay?"

The dog's tail fell, and he made a sad face to the owner. Kaito sweat dropped and looked past them.

"No trespassing" was written on the gates, the large moss-covered trees with tangled roots were impossibly tall, making the tall gate seem like an ant. three Chunin, proctors Aoi guessed, were seated in a small booth.

"This is the location for the 'second exam', the 44th Training Field. Also known as the Forest of Death."


	12. Second Stage Encounters!

**Arc Two, Chapter Two: Second Stage Encounters**

There was something creepy about the place, Aoi had to admit.

"Uh, what was the name again?' Kaito inquired, though Aoi was sure he had heard the name.

"This place is called the Forrest of Death, you'll soon realize why. Before we start, I've got something to give to you." She took out a thick stack of papers from her pocket. "This is a consent form. Before you can take part in the test you have to sign this. From here on out, there will be corpses. I have to get your consent to that, or it'll be my responsibility." She smiled, and began to laugh. Though it seemed genuine, Aoi could sense a little bit of "crazy" in it.

"Well, I'm going to start the explanation for the second test. In a word," she handed the papers to Jin, who then proceeded to pass them to other ninja, "the limits of your survival will be challenged.

"First, I'll give you step-by-step instructions on the terrain of this Training Field." She held up a book, the inside of it having a little illustration of a forest inside a small circumference. "Training Field Number 44 is surrounded by 44 locked entrance gates, there are rivers and a forest and a tower in the middle. It's about ten kilometers from the towers to the gate. In this confined area, you will go through a certain survival program. The contents of which is an anything goes scroll battle!" Her brown eyes bore into them.

"A scroll battle?" Naoki said from somewhere in the crowd.

"Yes. I want you to fight for two scrolls, the Heaven Scroll, and the Earth Scroll. All together, 23 teams got through the first test. Half of them, give or take a few, 12 teams get the Heaven Scroll, the other half get the Earth Scroll, one team getting either the former or the latter. I'll hand over one scroll to each team. To put it simply, that's what you're vying for."

"And what might be the conditions to pass?" Shika adjusted her glasses.

"Three of you being both the Heaven and Earth Scrolls to the central tower. That means, of the teams, half of them will definitely fail.

"Furthermore, it has to be in time. For this second test, the time limit is 120 hours. Do it in exactly five days!"

"Five days? What about items like food, water, and shelter? Bathrooms!" Kaori cried out.

"Be self-sufficient! It's a treasure trove in the wilderness. There's more than enough for food. As for bathrooms, I'm sure you'll find a way."

"Yeah, but the forest is teeming with fierce man-eating animals, poison bugs, poisonous weeds, and much more. There's practically no way." Jin commented.

"That's survival for ya." Takehiro nodded.

"Also, it's questionable that all 36 people in thirteen teams will pass." Hibiki said.

"With each passing day, the intervals of action get longer while the time of recovery gets shorter... S-seems pretty grueling.  
>On top of that, you're surrounded by nothing by enemies, even falling asleep will be a problem..." if Emi didn't seem shy before, she definitely was at the moment.<p>

"And besides those injured during attempts to capture scrolls, there will definitely be people who are unable to endure the rigors of the course." Anko said.

"For the quitters here, according to the rules, you cannot give up in the middle of it. I want you to spend five days in the forest. Moving on, conditions of disqualification. Number one, if all three members of the team can't make it to the tower with the Heaven and Earth Scrolls within the time limit. Number Two, if a team loses a member or if a member becomes incapacitated. Those two, and this is a supplement; do _not_ look at the contents of the scrolls until you have reached the tower. For those of you who are curious... When you look at it. You'll. Find. Out!" Anko smiled a mischievously.

"There are times when a chunin must deal with super-secret missives. This is to test your reliability. That's it for the instructions. Exchange your three consent forms for the scrolls in that hut over there." She pointed at the hut with three chunin sitting in it. "After that, pick your entrance, and all the gates will open simultaneously." Anko sighed deeply.  
>"Finally, just a word of advice. Don't die!"<p>

. . .

Kaito felt an odd mix of fear and joy when he heard the rules. After everyone got the form, the Chunin at the booth rolled the red curtain to the right, closing the front of the booth from prying eyes.

"Guys, we won't know what scroll the team is carrying, won't know which of the three have it. If what Ibiki said was right, this test will involve life-or-death struggles for information. Everyone is an enemy, and with the determination around here, it might come to killing each other." Aoi glanced worriedly at the other teams.

"You may now come from the scroll exchange." The Chunin announced.

Teams went in through the side, exchanging scrolls while others waited in line. One would team would go in while the other stayed a ways away, making sure no one knew what the other team got.

Kaito handed the three forms to one of the men, and received a Heaven Scroll.

"Teams who have taken the scroll, stay with the representative and move to the gate. You'll all start simultaneously in thirty minutes!" Anko announced, looking at her watch.

. . .

"You two ready? We've gotta show those rookies who's boss around here." Naoki rolled his neck around, successfully cracking it.

"If you want. I don't mind, but it seems pointless. I don't want to sit around all the time, but what if we run into your friends?" Shika glanced Naoki's way.

"Emi and Takehiro? I don't think we all need to go after them. According to our rules, either Shika, or you," Naoki turned to Aiko, "Will be fighting them, since we can't fight people we have relations." He glared at Shika.

"It's just a precaution. Emotions can get in the way. Now, since I have no feelings for that Jin fellow, I can certainly get him, correct?"

"Incorrect." Naoki smiled. This time it was Shika's turn to glare.

"Either way, we don't know our competition. We can handle much, but not all. Being cautious might help us this time around." Aiko finally joined in, running a hand through his hair.

. . .

"It's finally here. Guess I'll be the lead after all." Jin cracked his knuckles.

"I'll be in the spotlight too. What do you think it'll be like in there? Will it be cold, or will it be hot? Is that place like a swamp in there? I don't like swamps. I think they have something to do with my hair. You know, the humidity and all-"

"I'm sure it will be alright." Hibiki placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder.

"I thought you weren't one for senseless violence, noble-san?" Jin stretched down and touched his toes.

"This isn't senseless," Hibiki tapped the gates, "This is to get promoted."

. . .

"You ready, guys?" Ren looked at his teammates.

"Yes, Ren-chan." Emi smiled sweetly.

"S-stop calming me that!" Ren blushed furiously.

"Guess I'm closing up shop for the time being." Takehiro sighed.

"Yeah. That's because we're going to war." Ren told Takehiro.

"That's right, and we've got enough weapons to fund both sides."

. . .

"Alright! Time to test my new moves on some living targets!" Kaito exclaimed.

Aoi sighed and said, "We're focusing on getting the scrolls, not getting into fights."

Hayato, who had previously been flinging a kunai in the air, stopped to look at the proctor. The proctor unlocked the gate and checked his watch.

He looked up when Anko yelled, "We now start the second test of the Chunin Exam!"

The gates opened and Kaito and his team didn't waste a moment, dashing into the wild forests and the unknown.

They gained speed as they went. They sprung up a large root and began whipping from tree to tree. The exam had begun, and they had already made up their minds that weren't going to lose.

Kaito and the team stopped on the branch of a huge tree, leaves hiding them from the view of other teams.

"So which team are we going after first?" Kaito was buzzing with energy.

"I think we should first gather some supplies. We'll go to the water first, and then search for some edible animals. _Safe_ edible animals." Aoi said, staring in Kaito's direction. "That means that whoever hunts, being you or Hayato, I will have to come with you."

"Fine with me." Kaito shrugged.

"Alright then. Since you wanted to test out your moves so badly, I think we've got some visitors."

At that instant, three ninja with Konohagakure headbands burst above. Kaito stood and jumped, tackling one of them head one. They clashed midair, kunai sending sparks, until Kaito made hand seals and water burst from his mouth. The ninja flew, but Kaito flew back from the pressure.

"You idiot!" Aoi yelled, but she would quickly take back her words.

Still spewing water, he turned his head and was yanked to the left. He aimed his elbow to strike, and strike he did; his elbow slammed into the next ninja's stomach. The water still going, he and the ninja flew into the tree, the water making Kaito's elbow drive deeper into the genin until he spit blood. Kaito, deciding this ninja was finished, decided to go after the last one, who had started fleeing.

"Oh no you don't," Kaito made a couple of hand seals. "Water Style: Water Bullet Jutsu!" Water shot out of his mouth at the poor ninja, who got hit not once, not twice, but thrice, the force of each bullet smashing him into a branch. The barrage of bullets stopped after a moment, way after the poor ninja had been knocked unconscious by the sheer pressure of each blast.

"Woah, Kaito! How'd you do that thing?" Aoi asked.

"Which 'thing' are you talking about?" He jumped down to his teammates.

"The flying thing?"

"Using the force of the water from Wild Water Waves, I could change the force to where it propelled me or something. I forgot how Mariko explained it. Basically I can control it by turning my head." He chuckled, rubbing the back of his head.

"Oh, well since you could handle those three no problem, I'm sure you won't mind handling one more." Aoi turned, glaring at a figure hidden in the shadows.

A tall, pale genin stepped from behind a tree. He had purple eyes and short, wild spiky blue hair, green marks on his face. He had a long white robe that exposed none of his skin; it went well past his hands and the collar was so high it covered his mouth and the bottom half of his nose. He had matching pats and blue shinobi sandals. He said nothing, but glared hungrily at them.

"Got anything to say?" Kaito brought out a kunai, but when he was about to charge Aoi stopped him.

"There's something off about him. He's different than those three Kaito. I think you might need some back-up with this one."

The genin apparently heard this, as he tilted his head in a maniac sort of way.

"I got your back," Aoi said, forming a bow made of pure chakra. "Hayato, do you mind scouting the area to see where his teammates are?"

He nodded and disappeared without a word.

"You ready?" Aoi drew the bowstring back and an arrow appeared.

"I won't need it, but I'll gladly accept your help." Kaito grinned, and jumped towards his opponent.

. . .

"That's sickening." Ren cast a disgusted glance towards a large bug slithering its way into the shadows.

"I agree, but there's no need to make the poor thing sad." Emi placed an apple neatly on top of her head. "Ready!" She gave Takehiro a thumbs up.

"Alright!" He turned around and bent down to touch his feet. Suddenly the apple was off of her head and pinned to a root by a kunai.

"And again, I couldn't see it." Emi sighed. "How about you, Ren?"

He shrugged. "I saw his hand move, but I couldn't see the kunai the whole time." Ren looked at Emi who was trying to get the kunai out of the tree. He saw black particles start floating in the air near her, and he narrowed his eyes in concentration. '_They looked like black dust clouds... What the heck..?_'

"Emi!" He appeared by her side, picked her up, and vanished from the spot just as a spear drove through the root and into the spot Emi had previously been standing. Takehiro appeared by his side as a genin appeared by the thrown weapon. He was fair skinned with red hair, had a black full body suit with t-shirt-like sleeves, 3/4-length legs, and a collar. With this, he wore a white cloth over his left shoulder and on his right thigh, with some black sandals. His Sunagakure headband was sewn into his suit on the right shoulder. He slowly clapped.

"How did you ever know?" He asked.

"Just a gander. Dust isn't black." He glared at him.

"My name is Taro, if you'd like to know your killer's name." He grinned sadistically.

"Mind telling us where your teammates are?" Takehiro asked, idly twirling a shuriken.

"They're having fun somewhere else. I was hoping you could give me a show." He smiled, the same black misty substance Ren saw seeping from his mouth. Ren set Emi down, who had been shuddering nervously the whole time.

"Wind Cutter." Ren whispered, and wind swarmed around his right hand, spinning at incredible speeds. "I plan to end this quickly." He spoke in a murderous tone.

"I don't mind. It's always fun when the target struggles." The misty substance grew in size and became thicker; it flew around its owner as he made a handseal.

"Iron Sand," Taro said, "Drizzle."

. . .

"Where is he?" Kaito looked around with obvious confusion.

"I don't know." Aoi lowered her bow. Their opponent had disappeared as soon as Kaito landed on the branch. And she meant _disappeared_. He vanished from sight, and neither Aoi or Kaito could sense his presence. It was almost as if he left the face of the earth. Glancing around, Aoi was trying to put things together in her head.

'_What the heck could have happened?_'

Looking to Kaito's left, Aoi caught a ripple in the beam of sunlight that pierced through the bush's shadows.

"Kaito, move!" She shot an arrow.

Kaito obediently moved as fast as he could, barely avoiding Aoi's arrow. The arrow froze mid-motion, and their foe appeared out of thin air, clasping the projectile with his pale, yet strong hand. He tilted his head.

"You saw me." His voice was deep.

"Who are you?" Aoi ignored his previous statement. She drew the string back again.

"Are you asking for my name, female?" Aoi finally noticed the Kirigakure hitai-ate strapped to his arm.

"Scattering Shot!" Aoi let go of the string. The arrow was set free, but split into four beams of energy as it left the bow, curving inwardly to their target. The tips of the beams were shaped to be an arrowhead's, and sped toward the foe with amazing speeds. Before they could connect, he disappeared yet again. The streams crashed into nothing but the branch, strong enough to make the huge thing fall off. Aoi looked around again but gasped when she heard a voice behind her.

"It's Yoshio, female. Remember it well."

. . .

Hibiki stopped his teammates as they landed on a branch.

"Someone's here." He looked up the trees. As if the trees heard him, they rustled in response. The three scattered as senbon rained on their previous location.

Appearing to another location, Kaori asked, "Who is it?"

"Byakugan!" The Hyuga's pupils became more distinct and the veins near his temple bulged prominently. "It's a female. She's... flying. Jin, aim at that!" He pointed upward.

Jin rose his hand. "Soul Screech!" The golden bracelet on his wrist blared, or more specifically, the orb in the center of it. The orb turned into a translucent white, and rippling waves of white shot out of Jin's palm and rustling into the leaves.

"Did i get her?"

"No, she avoided it. Wait, she's not alone."

From the left, a familiar genin came on a tree nearby. It was Aiko.

. . .

The iron sand hardened into minuscule grains near Taro, and as he whipped his hands back, they attacked simultaneously, soaring towards them at incredible speeds. Ren barely had time to avoid the bullets as they came. It seemed as if they got _faster_ after they were shot! He jumped in the air just as another volley was propelled. He put his arms in front of him as the grains slammed into him. Immediately he felt an immense pain all over his body, a sharp throbbing sensation making parts of his body grow painfully numb. He grind his teeth together to keep from shouting in pain. The force drove him into the tree.

He stiffly opened an eye and saw two shapes shielding him.

"Ren!" Takehiro roared, "Get up!"

Ren's eyes shot open, and he made a handseal. Wind went off of his body, and he felt lighter. Jumping into the air, he made rapid handseals. "Cyclone Buster!" He screamed, and wind screeched around his arms, spinning so fast it looked like mini tornadoes swallowed his arms. He dropped to Taro, who had only a brief second to move before Ren's hands came in contact with the ground.

The earth broke, sending splinters all around Ren's raging technique. The jutsu tore at the ground, the speed reducing the grass to dirt and gravel. He kicked off of his right leg and charged, lifting his head up as he let out a battle cry.

Taro picked up the spear made from the special sand and parried. The sand squealed at the mercy of the powerful wind technique, tearing at the weapon as if it were paper. He roared one last time, and thrust his arms harder, destroying the weapon and sending a powerful blast at Taro. He blocked and kept his feet on the ground, withstanding the tearing force of the blast. He skidded to a halt, and stared daggers at Ren.

"If you intend to fight seriously, then I also intend to. Iron Sand: Small World!" He thrust his battered palm forward and the iron sand gathered into a small black sphere. A black branch shot out, and then another and then another. They grew out at a rapid pace, shooting out faster and faster. And poor Ren was stuck in its path.


	13. Rookies Occupied

**Arc Two, Chapter Three: Rookies Occupied**

Aoi shuddered so badly she thought she shook her skin right off her bones. She slowly turned her hand and saw a blur of blue. This jerked her back to reality, and she zoomed in to see that Kaito had thrown his fist at Yoshio's face. Yoshio grabbed his wrist almost effortlessly, and swung it to the side; Kaito went tumbling off the branch and disappeared from her view.

Aoi jumped backwards and aimed her bow towards the ground between them. "Repelling Shot!" She shot an arrow that was thick with chakra towards the aimed spot. Yoshio stared at her as the arrow went near his feet. She smirked and observed her work.

The arrow crashed into the wood and flattened on its surface; it briefly glowed, then shot forward, rising to hit the genin's chest. He jerked his head and bent backwards, slamming his palms onto the fuzzy branch as the arrow missed him by a hair's breadth. Yoshio pushed off his feet and swung them over his head, landing in a crouching position. The arrow hit the trunk and launched off somewhere into the forest.

"Almost. But almost is never enough." His eyes were cold and dark, each time they caught each other's gaze Aoi felt as if spiders had crawled up her spine and ran wild across her body.

Aoi backflipped high into the air, mid-flip she drew the string back and poured her chakra into the bow. She waited as time seemed to freeze, her breaths louder and her heartbeat thundering in her chest. '_Time it this second._' a voice whispered silently in the back of her head.

Her vision flared a ghostly blue, and time seemed to slow down; she could see as Yoshio, no, her target crouched even lower to the ground, preparing to spring up in an attack that would surely hit Aoi. Aoi drew the string back as far as she could, and when she formed the projectile, a thick stream of chakra began making its way into her peripheral view, which was moving moderately fast even in the suspended time. She had but two seconds. A second. A millisecond.

She released the string and time seemed to resume at its natural pace, the world becoming the array of colors Aoi had grown used to. She could no longer see the other thing she had locked onto, for it was moving at almost imperceptible speeds. The arrow had long since left her bow, and had now connected with something she couldn't quite see, but knew exactly what it was. Her previously shot arrow was now flung off course by a blue blur. Aoi continued flipping until her feet landed on the trunk, where she whipped her head up to see Yoshio look up in incomprehensible surprise. His body had already rose from the branch, and the projectile had finally slammed dead center in his chest.

A bright glint lit up his white garments as something like a trigger went off, a large blue blue arrow growing from the small thing that was driving both her target and itself into the tree. Aoi had known what she had hit the moment she saw it.

She had hit the arrow that turned into a ball of chakra after connecting with something solid twice; the thing that had bounced all over the forest and that she _knew_ was going to come back to their location in a matter of moments, for each time it hit something, that same thing propelled it to go even faster, and also making it stronger.

She had hit her Repelling Shot technique.

The arrow kept growing to full size with a chakra forcefield around it, growing to be as tall as Aoi, as it dug its way into the tree. Aoi knew that it wouldn't go through the huge tree, but the move was enough to seriously injure him, if it didn't kill him. Soon the technique died out, and Aoi realized that she had been breathing heavily. The technique took a fair amount of chakra, and focusing enough chakra so the bow wouldn't break from the strength of the arrow, _and_ making sure that the arrow was strong and fast enough to send the Repelling Shot directly at Yoshio took more out of her than she thought it would have.

Aoi was so focused on Yoshio that she hadn't noticed her teammate Kaito climbing up a tree to her far right. Kaito looked all around until he spotted Aoi. Looking from the tree in front of Aoi to her, he grinned and chucked a thumb to his left. After a brief moment she understood what he had meant and nodded. Together they turned and jumped from branch to branch, away from their previous battle and towards their planned area.

. . .

Hibiki sighed and peered into the trees above before directing his gaze to the blonde.

"Aiko Seiken, was it? Are you aiding the Kirigakure-nin up there?"

Aiko looked at the three and sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Just give me your scroll." He sighed again.

"What was that?" Jin glared. "Ne, what did he mean by that? He can't be dumb enough to challenge all three of us."

Hibiki blinked and said, "Here comes the other one."

And as he said, the bundle of leaves rustled frantically as a girl came floating down. She was holding a black japanese umbrella as she glided towards a high branch. She wore a midnight black dress, the skirt resembling somewhat of the umbrella she carried in her gloved hands. She had long blue hair, and despite her almost formal attire, she had black shinobi sandals.

"All of you are Konaha-nin, no?" She looked around, faking a child's innocence. "I'm taking that silence as a yes." She smiled.

Hibito saw her store chakra into the umbrella before she threw it in the air. A mad grin spread across her face. She made a hand seal and gleefully said, "Senbon Shower!"

The umbrella flew high into the air. Hibiki yelled, "Jin, guard!"

"Eight Trigrams Palm Rotation!" He released chakra from every tenketsu in his body and spun, a large rotating shield of chakra protecting him from the barrage of senbon, sending them scattering in all directions.

"Inner Ward." Jin clenched his right wrist and the orb pulsed, the color changing to a dust-like silver. He rose his hand to the sky, and a shield of the same color as his orb appeared above him and his teammate.

The senbon's rain, Hibiki thought, could be confused for actual rain at night. They needed to handle her quickly, or they might regret it later.

As soon as the umbrella stopped shooting the thin weapons, Hibiki stopped, dispelling the revolving shell of chakra. He climbed up the trunk of his tree, and after gathering chakra to the bottom of his feet, did a mighty jump. Pulling his arm back in a striking position, he searched her body for any signs of another attack. As he sailed toward her, he found it odd that she was calm, or how she didn't try to move or block. As a safety measure, he decided to use a move that would throw her off.

"Eight Trigrams, Vaccum Palm!" He shot chakra that was compressed in a vacuum shell from his palm and towards his enemy. At this her eyes widened, and she swung her umbrella in front of her as the tremendous force of the air slammed her off the branch and towards the ground. He quickly landed on said branch and jumped down to follow her.

"Eight Trigrams," He said as he sailed through the air, approaching her as she looked up in wild surprise, "Two Palm!" He violently thrust two fingers left hand into her right shoulder, and then did the same with his right hand into her left upper abdomen. She moaned from the pain "Four palm!" he hit two more times with unrelenting speed, and as she rose an arm to defend herself, he decided to go after that. He twisted mid air, getting on the inside of her arm's range, and continued the assault.

"Eight Palm!" He stabbed at her arm and shoulder four times, a gasp of pain escaping her lips. "Sixteeen Palm!" Fast and unrelenting, he slammed his fingertips all over her body. Just as he was going to continue, he sensed another presence. Twisting, he put his feet on her and kicked off, sending him out of his new enemy's range and her down to the ground.

Hibiki knew who it was before he even landed on the trunk. He wrapped his arm around the tree to keep himself upright.

"Why would you save her, Aiko?" Said ninja had jumped to another tree and glanced Hibiki's way.

"I was bored just waiting around." He shrugged. Hibiki looked down and saw a small cloud of dust on the ground. Kaori and Jin appeared by Hibiki's side."You two mainly focus on her," He pointed below, "I'll aide you two. My main focus will be on him, and if anyone should help me, it should be Jin."

"So I'm the only one who's focusing directly on her?" Kaori pointed at herself. "Just to clarify."

"Yes."

"Alrighty. Let's go, Jin." She jumped below.

"Careless much?" He sweatdropped, reluctantly going after her.

Hibiki locked gazes with Aiko.

"So you're going to fight me?" He scratched his head.

Hibiki uttered not a word before taking another start and leaping off the branch.

"Guess that's a yes." Aiko took the sword-sheathe and all-from the strap with one hand and held it up to Hibiki horizontally. "I won't even need to unsheathe my blade." He declared coolly.

. . .

Ren's foot had been caught in a hole in the ground that was produced from his wind technique. He cursed as the branches spiraled towards him. He struggled and yanked at his foot. How hadn't he noticed it before? This simple mistake would be the death of him.

He pulled harder and began to feel pain in his ankle. He ignored it and kept tugging, gripping his thigh with both of his hands and pulling with all of that he could muster. He looked towards the black sticks that heralded his death and swore as savagely as he could imagine. A flash of silver and a chain of papers a feet in front of him, and suddenly there was a mini explosion.

Ren stared wide-eyed before looking down to see Emi had gotten his foot out of the ground. Takehiro tackled him, lifted him up, and dashed away from the place, Emi on his right. Ren looked back and saw Taro. He was covered in dirt and his own black sand.

Taro rose both of his arms, and sand around him formed the large double sided spear that ran a hole right through a gigantic tree. When the sand had stopped, he grabbed the middle of the weapon and yanked it high over his head. Leaning back a tad bit, he chucked the spear far into the air. The spear pointed towards them as shot forward as if an invisible force propelled it.

"Turn around, _idiots_!" Ren screamed. He pushed off of Takehiro and rolled onto the ground. He tried to stand tall, but pain was fresh in his wound. He bent on one knee and made rapid handseals.

"Wind Cutter, Cyclone Gust!" He cross the back of his palms and drew them to his chest. Wind swirled around his body rapidly, causing his clothes to whip around frantically. He abruptly yanked his hands apart, and the wind left his body and flew to the spear.

The wind screeched as it came in contact with the spear. It screeched not in victory, but in pain. The strong and fierce wind was no match against the weight of the spear. At best the wind would throw the spear off target. And that was exactly what the technique did.

The spear sent a shockwave in the earth, causing a slight tremor. Ren panted and bent over, trying to catch his breath.

"Ren, come on. We need to retreat." Emi was now by his side.

"No. This is a fight. We're going to run from one kid?" He spat on the dirt in front of him and looked up. "Not even an army can take us down, remember?"

Emi blinked and looked towards Takehiro.

"He's right. The day we passed Shikamaru's test was the day we said it. And I have no intention to go back." Takehiro shrugged his shoulders and a sickle connected to a chain, a _kusarigama_ he called it, slid out of his sleeve and into his palm. He grabbed the chain and began swinging the weighted end on his side, holding the sickle in his other hand with an iron grip.

Emi sighed and stood up. "I guess this would be a good chance to test some things out. You've got my back?"

"And you've got ours." The two boys answered.

She nodded, and for the first time in the whole exam, Emi grinned.

"Then let's get that scroll."

. . .

Aoi and Kaito regrouped at a stream of clear water that glimmered under the sun's presence. Aoi hadn't realized how fast time flew in the forest. The sun was already above them, and would in no time be out of sight, the moon claiming its dominance in the night. Aoi checked her surroundings before heading to the stream.

"Do you think it's clean?" Kaito asked curiously.

"If not, I don't want to find out. First things first, we need to find Hayato and find a camp."

"Great. Any ideas on how to find Hayato?"

"No, i was actually hoping you had an idea." She sighed. She looked at Kaito while he stared at the water, as if her were in a trance. He turned to her when she giggled.

"What?"

"You have a twig in your hair," She plucked the item protruding from his white hair out, "How didn't you notice?"

Kaito blushed slightly and looked down. "I don't know. After that ass threw me off the tree I had trouble getting back up. And when I finally had, you already finished him. How did you do it, anyway? There was, like, a crater in the sucker!"

Aoi shrugged. "It's complicated. A lot a stuff with chakra and such." Aoi felt a chill creep up her spine. Her head dropped down, and she spoke in a lower voice. "Kaito, someone's here."

Kaito blinked and sighed. "Not again..."

Aoi looked far in front of her and saw colors blend in that spot, forming a humanoid shape. She realized with a start that it was Yoshio.

"H-how!?"

Kaito stood. "It looks like Aoi can't finish you," he said, "So allow me to do the honors." Kaito looked at Aoi, and judging from the look on his face, Aoi could tell that he knew Aoi was in no position to fight.

Kaito looked back towards Yoshio and tightened his headband. Aoi surprised herself when she didn't try to stop him. She had enough faith in her teammate to see the future. And in that future, Kaito was not the loser.

. . .

Kaito looped his fingers through several shuriken in his pouch and in a fluid motion brought them out and threw them at Yoshio. He didn't even attempt to avoid as they pierced his body. The body simply fell back and lay motionless.

"Kaito, on the water!" Aoi pointed. Kaito followed her gaze and saw the same ninja standing on the water's surface. His eyes weren't on Kaito, they were on Aoi. Kaito saw Aoi shiver from his stare, so he protectively stood in front of her.

His eyes scanned Kaito, and a bored expression replaced his earlier one.

"Move." He commanded.

Kaito stepped on the water. "No thanks." He ran at his enemy, turning his head downwards to send a powerful stream of water into the river. Kaito flew into the air and twisted. He formed three handseals and screamed, "Water Style: Water Trumpet!" Kaito launched a large jet of water from his mouth and through his hand towards his target below. Yoshio was caught by surprise and had no time to dodge the technique, the force slamming his body under the water.

Kaito kept the jutsu running until he felt he had done enough, landing on the water soundly.

A hand clawed out of the water and slammed its palm on the surface. Yoshio's body rose from the water, and his glare was wicked and evil; but not without a hint of excitement.

"So you're willing to fight me?" He rose, cracking his neck. "Your funeral. Ninja Art," Yoshio made a tiger handseal, "Hidden Mist Jutsu!"

. . .

Hibiki slammed his palm into Aiko's weapon. Landing, he added more pressure and shoved Aiko back.

Smirking, Hibiki said, "Then I'll beat you using only my bare hands." Hibiki got into a stance.

"We've got us a battle, then."

Hibiki dashed at his peer, placing his hand sideways at his waist. He skidded to a stop just as he swung his left hand towards Aiko's side. The blonde turned to dodge and shoved his case into Hibiki's stomach, then yanked it up in an attempt to hit his chin. Hibiki lifted his chin and hovered in the air. He then jerked his chin upwards and backflipped to his feet.

Hibiki rose an eyebrow. "So you're not reliant on the sword?"

"I am using sword. Just an sheathed one. Aren't you going to use that technique of yours, with the eyes?"

"I would, but that wouldn't be only using my hands."

Aiko smirked at this. Aiko charged at Hibiki this time. He slammed his case on the ground and lifted off the ground. He swung off of it, and Hibiki immediately guarded as he flew at him, his feet slamming into his arms. Hibiki took this chance and grabbed Aiko's feet and tucked them under his armpit. He began spinning, faster and faster, and he let the blonde go, sending him flying towards the trunk. He hit the wood once, then rolled to a stop.

"You're not bad, either. Thought you were simply reliant on your dojutsu."

As Hibiki was about to respond, he heard Jin yell, "Hibiki, a little help!" Hibiki turned and saw the blue-haired girl floating with her umbrella. She began going higher, and Hibiki's eyes narrowed. He was sure he had sealed her pathway to her hands. That couldn't be the original.

He turned back to Aiko. He had his case slung over his shoulder, his arm hung around it with a bored expression on his face.

"The original escaped, and now that your teammates are free I've lost interest. I'll see you in the next stage. Right?" He added with a smirk. He crouched low to the ground, and shunshined away.

. . .

A thick mist sprang forth, rolling across the water and onto the land. Soon the whole area was covered in the mist. Kaito backed up, found Aoi, and helped her up. They stood back-to-back against their dangerous foe.

"I can't sense him." Aoi whispered. Kaito nodded as if she could see him in the fog. Kaito thought he could hear the mist itself move, rustling along the grass, selfishly draining the water to use it as fuel for itself. The mist seemed to besiege them and go on forever. Kaito was restless but decided against charging at nothing. Aoi needed him, he knew.

'I want to finish you, female," Yoshio's voice seemed to hiss from every direction, near and far, as Kaito felt Aoi tense, "And then you, water user."

"Mind coming out? It would make things _so_ much easier than trying to sneak up on us." Kaito said foolhardy.

"You should know by now that you have no chance against me. If I could appear behind female, what makes you think that I can't do the same to you?"

"Kaito, be careful. His stealth skills are on a different scale. It's like he disappears from the face of the earth. The only reason I caught him with that move is because he stood right in front of me." Aoi said in a low voice.

Kaito chuckled.

"Why are you laughing?"

"Because I couldn't care less. If he were standing a hundred yards I'd still hit him." Kaito smiled.

Aoi went quiet.

Kaito waited for something, _anything_, to happen in the fog. For something to stir, for something to shake, for something to _blink—_

Aoi shoved Kaito to the ground as a blade swung overhead, slicing a strand off of Kaito's hair. The blade turned, poised to strike downwards. Kaito's body moved on its on; suddenly he was on top of Aoi, the blade running clear through his stomach. Aoi stared at him with wide eyes.

"Kaito..?"


	14. Night Approaches

**Arc Two, Chapter Four: Night Approaches**

"I'll provide support." Ren said. Takehiro took a quick glance at Ren and sighed.

"Emi, I'm going to charge. You help him." He spun the chain faster, his eyes narrowing on the red-head a couple of yards away.

"Oka-"

"No, Emi. Charge with him. Just hand me something." Ren held his hand out impatiently. After a quick second, Emi reached into her shuriken holster and brought out a small container containing ointment inside.

"Rub this on your wound and you'll be good to go." She shook her head.

Takehiro suddenly dashed forward, Emi following beside him. Ren could hear their every footsteps as they went, and he hurriedly tried to put the ointment on his wound.

"Iron Sand," Taro gathered sand around him, "Sporadic Jagged Chain!" A large wall of black sand appeared behind him. The sand hardened into spears, and jutted out at incredible speeds. The spears were still connected to the wall, unlike the last move he used, and they crisscrossed each other, some slamming into the other and stopping the flow of those indiviual spears. They would turn at irregular times, and Ren feared for his teammates as they ventured near the technique's range.

"Emi!" Takehiro yelled over the almost mechanic screech of the sand.

"Right!" She yelled in agreement.

Emi had been much more effective on the field than Ren had thought. Emi went ahead of Takehiro and instantly began to anticipate the attacks; she swerved right as two impaled the dirt her feet had previously been set on. She moved fluidly and swiftly, sliding under three of the thin spears and then pushing off her feet to run on top of four others, jumping from each one cautiously and calmly. She ducked and twisted and leaped and slid along the technique with such expertise Ren wondered if that were actually Emi.

Ren stared at her as she turned, her red eyes alight with—wait, red? Emi's eyes were always a light blue. Ren whipped his head towards Takehiro and saw that he was also shocked. Takehiro didn't have much time to marvel, though, as the technique had finally reached him. He, unlike Emi, wasn't as flexible, but had other means to get through. He spun the chain and threw it, wrapping the weighted part around two spears that had crashed into each other. Taking a running start, he jumped and swung above it, letting the weapon go to fly onto a tree. Upon connecting, he ran to the top, disappearing from Ren's view.

Still progressing towards Taro, Emi flipped and rolled until she reached the highest point of the iron sand, where she broke into a sprint. A spear jutted out from point-blank range, but somehow she spun in time for it just to knick her shirt. Still spinning, Emi reached the wall and free fell into a small opening where Ren could no longer spot her.

. . .

"Kaito?" Aoi gulped. The white-haired genin didn't make a sound as his hair covered his face. Her eyes slowly went down his chin, to his chest, and eventually to his stomach where a giant blade of silver struck out. Kaito didn't move. Aoi don't move. The _forest_ didn't move. Not even a rustle of assurance from the leaves made a sound from anywhere in the mist. Instead, Aoi felt a cold whisper from the wind creep up her spine as a low chuckle rose above Kaito's still body.

"Sorry, water boy," Yoshio's breath seemed to hiss in the mist that was now tainted by a fresh murder, "But if I didn't get rid of you, I would never have gotten to the female."

Aoi's heart began to beat against her chest as she took in everything. Her body couldn't move.

'_What had mom said to do in this situation?_' her mind screamed, '_I need to focus on here. I need to improvise. I need to save Kaito. The blade is too low to-_'

_Thump!_

Aoi gasped as the blade slid deeper into Kaito, Yoshio made a noise of confusion. Aoi reached to push Yoshio off Kaito when she finally focused on something, or someone, who had jumped onto Yoshio's back.

It was... Kaito?

Aoi's panic had quickly changed from confusion as the Kaito on the pale boy's back grinned directly towards Aoi. He jerked his chin upwards, and Aoi moved from underneath the three ninja.

Aoi turned back to Kaito—wait, that wasn't right; Kaito's clones?—as Yoshio struggled and swung his body around in an attempt to throw the genin on his back off. Kaito wrapped his arms around Yoshio's neck and his crossed his legs across his chest, his tight grip becoming even tighter than before. As if two Kaito's weren't enough, she could see another coming from the air. He was making rapid hand seals, more rapid than Aoi could believe he could make, or remember for that matter. Making a final seal, he spread his hands out and slammed both of his palms onto the clone latched onto Yoshio's back.

"Water Style: Water Prison Jutsu!"

The clones burst into a large amount of water that shaped into a sphere of water, trapping Yoshio in a dense amount of water. Aoi was shocked; she had heard of the technique, but imagined only a jounin could use it. Now, this very day at this very moment, a genin on her team was using the technique. And the way he used it was, Aoi had to admit, stupendously genius!

Yoshio sat in the bubble, stunned as well by the technique that had caught him. Bubbles had rose from the corners of his lips, and Aoi realized that he couldn't breathe in the bubble.

"Kaito, where the heck did you learn _that_!?" Aoi exclaimed incredulously.

He turned his head as a bead of sweat rolled off of his eyebrow, his hand inside the orb of water that imprisoned the pale shinobi. "Mariko taught me water clones, and this. She said for when I'm ready for it."

"And are you ready for it?"

"Ready enough, i think. Going pretty well, right?"

Aoi almost cracked a smile. "Just don't overexert yourself. How long can you keep this up?"

She watched Kaito as he struggled to shrug while focusing on the jutsu. He soon gave up and stated, "Long enough for him to not be a threat."

Aoi nodded her head. While if anyone else had said this Aoi would have been skeptical as to what they meant, Kaito was different. She knew Kaito wouldn't kill Yoshio. He probably said that just to create some fear in him.

..Right?

In truth, Aoi was going on a hunch about all of this. Kaito could be a psychopath in disguise. All she knew about his past was that he came from a poor background, nothing more nothing less. Still, she believed that the Kaito he showed to everyone was the real Kaito.

The mist began to recede, the thickness of the plump gray fog fading slowly.

"Hey Kaito," Aoi called out, but she stopped to look over towards the ground. A shadow was traveling across the ground. The shadow was making its way towards Kaito. Aoi looked up and gasped.

. . .

Hibiki sat on a branch high above the other trees and watched the skies above the gated area, where birds chirped songs of freedom and clouds parted and separated as the day's light began to grow dim. Night time would come soon, he recognized. They couldn't catch that Kirigakure-nin who had escaped. She had to have escaped on foot because of the chakra pathway to her hands being sealed, so Kaori and Jin had gone to search for her while Hibiki was tasked to finding a shelter.

But honestly, sometimes Hibiki just wanted to relax.

He wanted to sit on the roof of his house and just catch the soft and gentle breeze that blew from the East. He loved letting his tense muscles relax, laying on the cool surface of the tree as he stretched his tired legs out, the sun's light warmth sheltering him from the oncoming cold. Ah, yes, these were some of the good times of being a ninja. Opening his mouth for a yawn, he could see a mist far in the distance. He guessed that, if it kept its course, it'd be here by the night.

Peering down below, Hibiki spotted something odd; there was an animal that was completely wrapped in white bandages. The bandages didn't seem to restrict the large salamander's movement at all either. Though as interesting as the specimen was, Hibiki decided to find a hollow tree above ground. This way he could avoid the mist along with that unknown creature.

. . .

"Kaito!" Aoi ran and threw her hands to the sky. The shadow hovered over them as Aoi channeled her chakra into a thin barrier protecting them. Looking above and through the translucent chakra shield, she saw the umbrella followed by raining senbon. Kaito was obviously preoccupied with the high level jutsu he was performing to even offer helping out, but Aoi had less than half of her chakra preserves due to her trying to finish Yoshio off quickly and swiftly. She was too much in a rush, she realized, but she would not let her teammate go down. It would have been her fault if the real Kaito had gotten stabbed, and she wanted _no_ harm to come to her friends.

The rain pelted down fiercely on her small defensive technique, and Aoi soon worried if she could launch a counterattack. There were no openings in the move, so she had to wait until Yoshio passed out. Taking out Yoshio in the bubble was no longer an option, her hands too occupied to send a quick jab to the blue-haired's neck.

She would just wait for the move to dispel to knock the genin out.

She soon regretted thinking that, because not a second later, a feminine voice spoke, "Senbon of a Widow's Passing."

Instead of the senbon going different places, it drove in hard on one spot, that spot being where Kaito was. Aoi quickly figured this out and transferred most of her chakra to defend that area before it burst from the pressure.

Again, that was another mistake made.

The girl must have known Aoi would do this, and pointed the area directly above Aoi yet again. This time she had no time to do anything to change her predicament. She knew she wasn't one for defense, but she should've at least seen this coming.

_Crack!_

Already the speed and force were taking a toll on this section of the shield. In but a few minutes she would be a new pin cushion for a thousand senbon to rest their tired little heads on. She cursed at their luck. All it took to get Yoshio, and now this. Sweat drenched her face as if she had fell face front into a puddle of it. The weight was overwhelming.

She took a final glance at Kaito and his entrapped inmate, mouthing the words "I'm sorry" to a wide eyed Kaito. Her eyes travelled to Yoshio who, even as he lost consciousness, had that evil in it. She continued to stare in his eyes, and him hers, as she tried to unravel what was underneath those disturbing eyes. Layer by layer she stripped them and found a tiny box labelled... What is it? The words were blurred, but they were on the tip of her tongue. She had never felt this. It was foreign to her.

Suddenly Aoi was shoved to the ground, the shattering of glass the only sound she could describe as her shield finally burst. A blur of black, and suddenly a column of the same color rose, and then darkness.

Had she died?

. . .

Takehiro swung from tree to tree, using another _kusarigama_, like an ape swinging from vine to vine as he tried to make his way around the deadly technique. Takehiro was adept at using this weapon, and swinging from trees was only another plus added to the list of things he could accomplish with it. Even in the forest, he had to watch out for random sticks of iron that jutted out. The technique's range was wide, he had to admit, but he didn't think it could branch off into the forest.

Takehiro couldn't shake the feeling that something changed in Emi when she began to climb the colossal amount of spears. He wasn't sure if Ren had noticed it, but she moved differently than before, almost as if she knew where they would go before they even hit.

The large wall of black sand was in sight, so Takehiro jumped left and stopped at a branch nearby it. He saw a flash of yellow fall from the apex of the monstrous assortment of spikes and black knots. Another flash of yellow and Takehiro realized that it was Emi's blond hair.

'_Emi!_'

He leaped forward and ran along a branch of hardened black soil, his feet making loud tapping noises along the cold, bare chakra-coursed thing. His eyes zoomed in on Emi as she made her quick descent to the ground, and then they scanned where she would land. It would be right on their enemy.

Wait, right on Taro? Takehiro skidded to a halt and stared. Emi wasn't just falling, she was _free-falling_, on purpose, to get to Taro. Not only was this tactic unexpected, but it should be completely alien to Emi.

He watched as she put her forearms in front of her and slammed into Taro, causing a small dust cloud to rise from the impact.

Almost instantly the iron sand turned into powder, floating along in the forest air. Takehiro coughed and swatted at it, all the powder leaving a bad taste in his mouth.

When his vision cleared, Emi was on top of Taro, pinning him down by his neck with her arm. Emi's eyes were red, which threw Takehiro for a loop. Since when can her eyes change color?

"Give us the scroll." Emi demanded, the sweetness and timidness of her voice gone and replaced by strength and calmness.

Taro glared, but reached into his pocket obediently. He pulled something out and tried to stab Emi with it, but she quickly grabbed and twisted his wrist. The shuriken fell followed by a low groan of pain.

"Scroll, not shuriken. I can't see how that can be confusing." Takehiro stepped near them, eyeing Emi more cautiously than Taro.

"Heh." Taro muttered.

Takehiro's eyes shot open, and he threw the weighted end of the chain, wrapped it around Emi, and threw her to the side just as shuriken flew over Taro's body.

Emi was disoriented at first, but she quickly recovered her senses and slammed her hands on the ground, stopping her roll. Taro leaned on his back and kicked up, iron sand swarming around him like bugs. Takehiro yanked the sickle part off of the _kusarigama_ and spun the chain quickly. He channeled chakra to the bottom of his feet and jumped as high as he was able.

He made a hand seal and his chain was covered in smoke.

He screamed with all his might as he brought the heavy chain down, a giant ball made from steel speeding towards Taro. Every muscle in Takehiro's arms and upper body screamed at him. He brought the chain down with a mighty tug, sending the ball the size of a boulder crashing onto Taro.

A large wind followed by the attack swept the forest, a large thunderous noise going off.

Takehiro landed on his feet and glanced for his teammates. Ren held Emi up by her waist to support her, but reluctantly let her go as her red eyes flared with anger.

"Emi, what happened to you?"

"Shut up," she said abruptly, "We haven't even finished him off and you're already interrogating me. You're such a nuisance."

Ren blinked in disbelief. "What?"

Emi didn't respond as she jumped into the air, narrowly avoiding a hand that sprung out of the ground. Ren moved to the side just as iron sand erupted from the ground, making it crack and implode at the spot. Takehiro was about to jump backwards before he took one last look at Emi.

"Dynamic," She pushed off a tree branch and flung herself towards the shinobi in the middle of the black ground splitting chaos, "Entry!" She twisted her body and threw her foot out. Taro, who's hands were in the earth controlling the sand that swarmed through the ground, had no time to dodge and was left utterly defenseless as her foot slammed into his face. There was a loud _smack!_ sound before she plunged him into the ground. The tremor and implosion ceased, steam rising from the ground and producing an almost charred odor.

Emi soon came out dragging the red head by his collar. Takehiro noticed she was limping on the leg she used to land the final blow.

"Now we're done." She sighed irritably.

. . .

Aoi looked up and swore she had never been as happy to see a person with her same hair color in her life; Hayato had his palms buried into the ground, a black crystalized pillar rising and crashed into the girl on the umbrella, sending them flying farther into the air. Hayato chucked his right arm back and slammed it into the black pillar.

"Black Pine Style: Needles!" Needles shot out from the black structure and pierced the umbrella. As if it were a kite, it sank in the air, plummeting to its eventual fall. A blue-haired individual jumped from the umbrella before it landed on the ground and quickly fled from sight.

Hayato removed his hand from the construction and it collapsed to an almost dust form.

A long while passed before Hayato turned around to look at Aoi.

"Finally!" Kaito exclaimed, "I was wondering if you read my note!"

Hayato's lips curved at the corner as he shook his head yes.

Aoi blinked. "Wait, you left him a note? When?"

"When this douche threw me off the tree." Aoi saw that Yoshio's eyes were closed but his lips were pressed together tightly, showing that the boy was still conscious.

"Sorry." Hayato said.

Again, they were quiet; he only spoke so much.

"For what?"

Hayato shook his head again. "I should have been here."

"It's okay," Aoi laughed, "We should have been able to beat him—"

"No," Hayato said, "He was strong. That girl almost killed you because now you're tired. But it's okay. I found you in time." Hayato walked to Kaito and patted Aoi's head lightly as he passed by, "So rest." he said simply. Hayato walked to the bubble and struck Yoshio from the back of his head. Yoshio's mouth parted slowly as his body began to float lightly.

Kaito, realizing that he successfully took him out, removed his hand and the water fell to the ground, Yoshio numbly following its lead.

Aoi was speechless while Kaito flopped to the ground and sighed heavily. That was their first full conversation, and he told them to rest? He obviously cared more about his teammates than he let on.

Aoi smiled and let her tense muscles relax. It was over.

. . .

Kaito felt as if a swamp had landed on Kaito's body and made reservations for a room. His hands were clammy and his shirt drenched with sweat. His hair probably still had leaves in it as he had recently plucked a twig from a hole in his shorts. His shins were stained with dirt and his feet had stepped into some sticky mud.

Wasn't that just great?

Kaito looked at the lake that was only a few feet away wistfully. His body ached from the struggle of using that high level technique. He planned on using that on the last stages of the exam, not this early. Still staring at the surface, Kaito saw a brief movement that sent a shockwave throughout the water.

Kaito quickly brought out a kunai and flung it in the air.

_Ding!_

Suddenly Hayato and another black-haired boy were clashing in the air, Kaito's kunai flying back to the ground. Hayato briefly looked down at Kaito and smiled. Kaito smiled back and game him a thumbs up.

Hayato and the other genin parted and Hayato took a defensive position in front of his teammates.

Kaito and Aoi struggled to stand up, when Hayato's deep voice yelled a booming "NO!"

The force made both of his teammates fall back on their butts.

"I told you to rest," Hayato glared fiercely at the new enemy, "I will protect you."

. . .

"Emi," Ren said slowly, "What the hell happened to you?"

Emi clicked her tongue in annoyance and turned to Takehiro. "Sometimes I swear you're the only one I can get along with."

Ren looked at the brunette. "What the hell is going on?!"

Takehiro shrugged, a smile playing on his lips.

Ren threw his hand into his hair in frustration. He paced back and forth, trying to assert the situation, when he spotted a small squirrel scuttling around. The squirrel itself wasn't interesting, it was what was on it.

"What the hell is that..?" Ren stared at the animal.

The creature was covered from head to toe in white bandages. Its body should have been restricted, it shouldn't even be able to turn its head, but yet it did. Another squirrel appeared next to it, this one also covered in the strange cloth. They seemed to be searching for something.

"What is that?" Emi took a step closer to it when their heads snapped towards the three genin. Suddenly animals covered in the same material poured from the woods; salamanders, nets and flies, slugs, toads, falcons and birds, snakes, a whole army of them surrounded the ninja.

"What the fuck is going on?!" Takehiro looked around, bewildered.

The three got into a back-to-back formation. The squirrel wasn't looking for a something.

It had found its someone.

"As if one person weren't enough," Takehiro muttered, "Now we have to face a whole armada of stylishly senseless animals."

A giggle echoed in the forest.

"I have a feeling that these animals aren't in control of themselves." Ren said in a nervous tone.

"No shit, genius." Emi retorted.

"White goes along with everything," the giggly voice chirped, "I think it'll look absolutely _lovely_ on you three."

"Come out and fight." Ren looked around and saw no genin anywhere in sight. He had a feeling that they'd have to fight their way out of this one. Looking up, he saw the sky was changing colors a darker blue. At this rate they would be fighting through the night.

"This is easier, though. I feel like if you can't beat a few animals of the forest, how could you ever defeat me?"

"Tsk. You bitch." He swore.

"Call me whatever you want, doll," She seemed to say everywhere within the forest, "I like it when people complain before their death."

* * *

><p><span><strong>AN<strong>

**Herro! I'm soooo sorry I didn't upload this sooner. Homework's been thrown from all sides, so I'm not as free as i'd like to be :c Don't worry, as soon as the workload decreases I'll be back on here, uploading as soon as I can. But for now? Even if I can upload a chapter, it might be a long time before the next one comes. Until then, cya!**


	15. Frost

**Arc Two, Chapter Five: Frost**

Hayato stood still as the steady breeze that signaled night's approach flew in. The boy in front of Hayato matched his steady pose. The boy was extremely fast, and if not for Kaito throwing the kunai, Hayato might not have spotted him in time to stop whatever he was planning.

Hayato felt a sting on the side of his hand, but showed no emotion in front of the enemy.

The genin had short black mildly spiky hair that was faded on the sides of his head, pronouncing the dark streak of hair that Hayato presumed to be a mohawk; a tangled strand of hair from said mohawk laying on his forehead. He had somewhat fair skin, dark-brown eyes, and had a slender frame. He donned a dark blue robe with white trimmings, short-sleeved mesh armor underneath, long dark blue shorts, yellow sandals, and a pinstripe arm warmer on his left arm. Hayato's eyes wandered to the three senbon clenched tightly between his fingers.

A senbon user, Hayato assumed. Just like that other ninja...

"Not going to say anything?" The boy mused.

Hayato said nothing and continued to observe his opponent. Soon the boy's relaxed features were tense with anger.

"Hey, bastard, I told you to say something!"

Hayato chuckled inwardly. It was clear he had horrible patience. Now that was something that could be used as an advantage.

"Suiren, get your ass out here!"

Hayato glanced towards the lake and saw the blue-haired girl that attacked them earlier land lightly on its surface. Her umbrella was gone, and she glared at Hayato evilly as she slowly walked towards the boy that called her.

"Hikaru, I think he wanted your name. Idiot."

"Well you just told it, didn't you? What's yours?"

Hayato looked at the boy name Hikaru, and the girl named Suiren. Hikaru, he guessed, was strong; Suiren was willing to run away because she was outmatched, outnumbered, or both, so why would she come back just because her ally came?

Hayato didn't take the chance to look back, but instead looked at the reflection in his kunai to see Aoi and Kaito. They were on the ground, stunned, but they had followed his request in staying back.

It seemed not responding increased his rage tenfold, because the boy was on Hayato again, hacking and slashing with his senbon like a crazed woodsman. Hayato drew a deep breath and ducked under the boy's overthrown arm. Hayato made rapid hand seals and held his hand over his mouth.

"Black Pine Style: Pinecone Torrent!" Black liquid flew out of his mouth and slammed into Hikaru's stomach, the swirling mass of darkness sending the boy flying into a tree. He stopped the technique as the girl named Suiren ran towards him. He brought a kunai out and poured chakra of the same nature as his previous techniques on it. The blade became crystalized in the black substance, the item cool to the touch as if winter had blown its frigid breath lightly on the piece of metal.

Suiren made fluid handseals and called out, "Water Style: Sprinkler Havoc!"

Water swarmed around her feet and tossed her into the air. A large bubble began forming, and as she flew higher into the air, Hayato realized she wanted to land on it. Hayato chucked the kunai at the bubble. The black projectile, sharp and swift, yet hard and heavy, stabbed the front of the bubble. The bubble burst from the back and a large amount of concentrated water shot out, the pressure so intense that it easily cut through three giant trees and continued to push onward. Suiren, still twisting in the air, hadn't noticed that the thing she planned to land on had already burst. Hayato knew full well this was an opportunity he could not pass on.

Hayato took three mighty steps before leaping into the air. He tilted his body so that his foot could land square in the girl's stomach. Then, abruptly, he was thrown back onto the ground as quickly as he had gotten in the air. Looking up incredulously, Hayato saw Hikaru grab Suiren and land smoothly on the ground. Hikaru ran his hand through his sleek black hair and made a taunting gesture with his hand. As Aoi and Kaito began to rise again, Hayato turned to glare at them when Aoi stopped him.

"Wait wait wait," She rose her hand to protest before Hayato even uttered a word, "I know you want to fight them alone, but at least let us get the girl."

"Oh?" She rose to her feet, raising her hand near her head to flip her blue hair over her shoulder, "That sounds tempting."

Hayato shook his head and made a special hand seal. "Black Pine Dome!"

He made his fingers straightly pointed and slammed his fingertips in the ground. He began to twist his hand clockwise and stopped where the clock would reach 6. Crystalized pillars of the black substance constructed a dome around his teammates and Yoshio. Shockingly, instead of Aoi lashing out, Kaito sprung up like a mushroom.

"YOU JACKASS!" He screamed through the dome-and Hayato was sure it was made soundproof-and pounded at the thing like a barbarian. "I GET AOI IN HERE, BUT I SUPPORTED YOU, ASSHOLE!"

Hayato forced himself to make a blank face and pointed at Yoshio. He turned back towards his enemies and got into a fighting stance.

"WHAT THE HELL DOES POINTING AT HIM DO? Ooooohhhh. I get it." Kaito nodded as if Hayato had given him a huge clue.

Amused, Hayato glanced his way. Hayato watched as Kaito grabbed Yoshio's unconscious body by the collar. He rose his hand and made a thumbs up at Hayato before slamming Yoshio's face in the clear rock-like material, rubbing it as if the barrier would magically disappear. Hayato sweatdropped and gave up on Kaito, focusing fully on the two individuals in front of him.

. . .

Aoi facepalmed herself so hard she thought she heard her brain rattle. She watched dumbfounded as the white-haired boy in front of her rubbed a face against the dome.

"We'll be out of here at any minute!" He muttered, grinning widely as if his plan were genius.

"You know, Kaito, I think he meant that as long as we have Yoshio, they won't be able to run away."

Kaito stopped, turned to Aoi and made a blank face equivalent to the one Hayato had given. "That's the stupidest suggestion I've ever heard."

Aoi's mouth dropped wide open as he continued. "He obviously used Yoshio's DNA to make this thing, so only Yoshio's DNA can get us out!"

Aoi stuttered to the find words for the situation. Finally, giving up, she sat in the corner and continued to watch Kaito grind the boys face against the black dome.

. . .

Ren was absolutely fed up with fighting these people. Never once have they had trouble fighting a single kid, and as soon as they got him, _another_ one shows up? He was filled to the brim with rage, his insides boiling with anger and his fists shaking with enmity that he knew could consume him during the battle. He tried to calm down but the painful throbbing sensation in his ankle was not helping, and the baleful look plastered across his face was doing no good in hiding his intentions.

A controlled bird's head turned their way and its wings snapped open. As if its wings had rung a bell only the animals could hear, they all turned their attention specifically on Ren. '_Great_', he thought, '_She's targeting me first. When I get my hands on that_ bitch_..._'

Ren was no longer looking at things in a strategic way. He wanted to find the girl controlling the animals and stop her. His hand spasmed, and the soft breeze traveling along the forest rushed faster.

The bird pushed off the tree and dived directly for the green-haired shinobi. Takehiro was already there, punching the poor creature to the ground. As it hit the ground with a hard thud, Ren saw his teammate hesitate. Emi dragged Takehiro out the way as four more birds shot from the sky like missiles.

"Don't hesitate," she yelled as she rolled over, "Hesitation is for dead idiots."

Ren shook his head. This new Emi was right. He shouldn't hesitate on mere creatures. He took a sidelong glance at the four birds whose heads were buried in a gushing amount of black sand. They were probably dead.

Which meant that they shouldn't need to hesitate. She's using defenseless animals to attack, so this is self-protection, right? This Emi was different, but different isn't always a bad thing...

He clapped his hands together and again wind went off of his body, and he felt lighter. Ren was proud of this technique he created, was even prouder of the way he was about to use it. He quickly remembered the movements to the technique his father had taught him. "Wind Style, Vaccum Gust." He sucked in a quick breath and blew wind out of his mouth as if he were whistling.

Two controlled tigers pounced on him, and he spun quickly in order to hit each of them. The wind slashed at their bellies and a muffled cry could be heard as they flew away. Almost instantly Ren felt a pang of sympathy.

"Tsk, ouch!" He blurted out as he felt a sharp sting on his palm. He looked down to his left hand and saw that his own wind had cut him. Memories came flooding back.

'_Be focused when you cast this technique_,' His father had scolded him the first time he tried to use it. Ren had almost hit his father and while trying to move the technique, he severely injured his left arm. '_You must be ready to cut down any target in front of you once you start this technique. If you can't handle the burden or can't control it, never use this._'

And so, the father-and-son training had stopped. Ren's father believed that if he couldn't use this, he wouldn't be able to use other wind-style techniques.

He saw Emi kick a grizzly bear high into the air, flash right above it and slam it into a herd of deer. Ren was sure she could hear the audible crack produced by the heavy beast landing on the poor animals, but Ren also saw that she didn't care, her pursuit of animals continuing. How could she be capable of this? Ren had hesitated a bit too long.

Suddenly a large salamander was on him. It swung its large tail to the left, and then Ren felt like a freight train slammed into his side. He went flying. He tried to throw his feet beneath him but the force of the blow was too great.

He managed to tap the ground with his right foot, but that only made it worse; he tripped and the world flipped, his head, his arms, his back, everything getting damaged as he rolled across the ground.

As bewildered as Ren was, he became even more rattled when he saw a gigantic snake slither its way towards him. He thought his mind was playing tricks on him until it opened its enormous mouth, its forked tongue darting out to fetch him. He rolled out the way and jumped and dodged like a rat fleeing from a hungry cat, until finally he got his bearings and jumped to a higher location.

Ren looked around and spotted the giant salamander that had flung him effortlessly across the forest floor. It had its back to Ren, and it looked like it was struggling to do something. Finally it rose its heads and Ren saw two legs sticking from its mouth. In one giant gulp, the body was gone.

* * *

><p>Jin appeared next to Hibiki and sighed, Kaori appearing right behind him. Hibiki didn't even turn their way when he spoke, "You didn't find her?"<p>

Jin stood straight and stretched out, letting a long yawn out. "Nope, no dice. You didn't find a place where we could rest, I'm guessing."

Hibiki still didn't look towards them, but instead let out a peaceful sigh. "Yeah, but it's mostly because some strange things have been happening in the forest."

"Ah," Jin brought out an apple he had gotten from the forest, rubbed it off on his shirt, and nibbled off of the plump round fruit, "Please tell us Scout-san, what happened?"

Kaori flopped on her bottom and began to play with the small hidden in her hood. The dog spotted Hibiki and leaped in his lap. Hibiki smiled and began to pet the dog, its tail wagging happily as Hibiki continued.

"There was some mist that was created by chakra. As quickly as it came it vanished. Then I saw an animal covered in white cloth. There was something strange about its movements. You'd think they'd be restricted, but guess what?"

Jin looked up after taking a chunk out of the apple.

"They blew up?"

Hibiki sweatdropped and muttered, "No, and as many times as you guess 'it blew up', I'm shocked you haven't realized that it will _never_ be that something blew up."

Jin shrugged and took one last bite of the apple before tossing it over his shoulder. "One of these days I bet you it'll be it. Just you wait. But answering your question the boring way, I'm guessing it could still move?"

"Bingo."

"So what's that supposed to mean?"

"It means that someone here can control the animals by wrapping them up in some strange cloth." Hibiki glanced off into the distance, where Jin assumed he had saw the animal. "Which means that we might see this person controlling them."

Kaori took this chance to enter the conversation.

"And that means we'll be fighting them?" Kaori's voice rose with anticipation.

Hibiki turned to his teammates and blinked. "Well of course," he said, as if it were obvious, "It's only inevitable."

* * *

><p>Takehiro cursed. Shikamaru had warned them about the exams, but what the <em>bleeding<em> fuck was this? He pulled out his tantō and parried furiously against a wave of sharp-beaked suicidal birds. He scanned the forest tirelessly for Emi but his efforts were to no avail. Each time he tried to turn his attention to look for the blond, a bird or an armadillo came close to him and he had to deflect the animal with the blade. She was somewhere lost in this carnage, and he hadn't heard anything from the girl. It was probably less of her not speaking and more of the stomping of animals that blurred out all other sounds.

Takehiro felt a cold breeze pass across his shoulder. Almost immediately he turned and saw Ren launch of a tree. His eyes were blank with what seemed to be rage and urgency. He flipped, raising his foot high before slamming it on the back of a large salamander. The controlled forest animals stirred, then they all launched themselves on the genin. His foot was stuck inside its back, so he lay defenseless against the raw force of the creatures.

Lemurs threw armadillos like balls, birds with unnaturally sharp beaks flew in like homing missiles, squirrels dashed along the wide body of the salamander in an attempt to reach the genin before the other animals tore him apart. In point blank range, Takehiro witnessed Emi appearing in a blink of the eye, shoving Ren off and shielding herself.

Emi disappeared in a mass of white, a small shriek cut off by the animals' hisses of clashing with each other.

Anger hammered in his chest like a hot spike. He unfold a paper bomb and wrapped it around his kunai. With precision aiming, he threw it three feet in front of the ball of cloth and, timing it correctly, made it explode. Animals flew in all directions. Takehiro dashed in the fresh smoke, his eyes adjusting clearly on the blond. He jumped and wrapped his arms around her, rolling on his back and jumping to a safer location. He laid her gently on the ground before turning back to the animals.

He became confused for a moment; some were still fully covered in the white cloth. But others? One part of a squirrel's cloth was torn off, revealing it's hairy brown leg, and it scurried away from the field. Animal's who's cloth was torn to reveal part of its body were magically free of the enchantment placed on them. By the time the other animals were free, about 1/4 of the animals were still around than the beginning amount.

A feminine giggle echoed in the forest.

"I got what I wanted," The girl said, "Be lucky I left you alive. Well, at least two of you." She giggled again, and then the animals departed.

* * *

><p>Hayato was mystified by the speed of Hikaru. He clapped his hands again, kneeled and slammed them on the surface of the grass.<p>

"Black Pine Style: Ascending Pillar!"

A black crystallized pillar jutted from the ground where Hikaru was standing-Or previously standing for that matter. Already he had moved out the way, standing a few feet from the column. Hikaru feigned amusement, lightly tapping his chin with his hand while nodding his head critically. Rather than anger, Hayato felt confusion. That speed was of a jonin's level. How was this possible? How many years has this boy been a genin? Hayato became intent on catching the raven-haired boy with the jutsu. He summoned another rising pillar, and another, each time HIkaru moving effortlessly from its range.

"Don't you think this has gone on long enough, kid?" Hikaru mocked arrogantly, "Anything you do I'll be out of the way in seconds."

Hayato rose an eyebrow at "kid" but continued to summon more. The way he used the technique consumed less chakra. He combined the soil and dirt and rocks with the pillar, the material making it easier to form the pillars without exhausting himself. Had they been fighting in the air, well, Hayato might've had a slight problem.

Hikaru, growing tired of dodging, decided to attack and charged at Hayato. He was fast, Hayato noticed, even coming at the boy. He summoned a pillar directly in front of himself.

"You've got to do better than that!" Hikaru yelled, side-stepping the pillar and swinging his foot at Hayato. Just as Hayato had wanted. He ducked beneath the kick and watched as his foot sunk in the pillar.

"What..?" Hikaru gasped. Hayato grinned and shoved the boy further in his technique, leaving only his face and leg poking out. He had purposefully made the pillar soft yet sticky, collecting on the spongiest and most viscous minerals he could gather in that short period.

Hayato rose to his feet and stared at the boy with detached amusement.

"Asshole," Hikaru spat, "Don't get cocky. You really should be paying attention to what's _behind you_."

Before Hayato could even turn around, something hard slapped is back and threw him forward. Mid-flip, he thrust his hand out and slammed it on the ground, stopping his roll and skidding to a halt.

Suiren had gotten Hikaru out by using a large amount of water, the pillar sinking to the ground and oozing outwards like slime on a wall. Hikaru didn't take the time to cleanse his clothes from the liquid, charging at Hayato again with a fierce look in his eyes like a tiger after its prey.

Hayato was secretly glad that his enemy was so irritable. It made his job a lot easier. He crossed his fingers together and clasped them, the ground trembling slightly as he called out, "Black Pine Style: Octo-Pillar!"

A large pillar rose, thick and large, made completely from his special technique. He separated his fingers and clapped his hands together, signaling for the technique to commence. Pillars half its size shot out of the mother pillar. Hikaru jumped onto the first one, running along its length. Another one shot out far to the left, then turned abruptly and launched itself at Hikaru. He jumped off the first to dodge the second, the Kiri-nin curving to run towards Hayato.

Hikaru came within ten feet of Hayato and the genin brought out his senbon with malicious intent. Hayato, deciding against dying, shot the last six spears out, each hitting Hikaru in point blank range.

Hayato remembered the other Kiri-nin was still there when he heard her gasp. He turned his head and saw her struggle to move.

He smiled when he realized that she stood in the liquid too long, the sticky substance keeping her stuck to the ground.

Hayato made the Ram handseal.

"Earth Style: Antwave Tremor." A wave of consuming earth made its way towards Suiren. She struggled and tried to throw herself out of the way, but she had no success. She cursed barbarously as the tide approached her.

Then, in an instant, everything got cold.

The wave was frozen, fresh mist seething from the area where Suiren was. The wave and mist obstructed Hayato's view. He stood completely bewildered as he watched the wave crumbled, the mist slowly rolling away to reveal a shape.

Hayato squinted his eyes to try and peer past the fog to see what had happened and was shocked what he saw.

As the fog dispersed, he saw Hikaru standing in front of a startled Suiren with his head down and his right arm pointed out. Frost was around their feet and his fist was covered in fresh fog. Hayato had to stop and think for a moment to realize the boy had just used ice.


	16. Flying Streams!

**Arc Two, Chapter Six: Flying Streams**

Hours seemed to pass before Hikaru's head slowly moved to focus his attention to Hayato. Hayato had become unnerved by this sudden technique; he hadn't known that Hikaru was holding back at all. His moves were fierce and swift enough with such prowess that Hayato thought his opponent was giving it all. Now though...

Hikaru's eyes seemed cold now (no pun intended), that burning passion of anger no longer standing above his other traits.

"H-Hikaru," Suiren trembled, "You didn't have to do that! Do you know what you've done, you idiot?!"

Hikaru swung his head towards her, rage returning to his (again, no pun intended) chilled features. "I know, I know!" he screamed, "I'm an idiot, I know! That wasn't needed, but..."

Silence again.

"I..."

"It's... alright. We can't let-"

"I know." He said, staring at the palm emitting mist. He turned his head to Hayato and a chill crept up his neck. This fight had changed suddenly, he realized with a start. "We can't let them leave."

. . .

"Emi!" Ren ran by her side, sliding smoothly next to Takehiro. "What's happened, What's wrong?"

"She-I, I don't know! Something's wrong with her."

Emi's eyes were closed, and her blond hair was stuck to her head by an enormous amount of sweat. She didn't breath raggedly, but she also didn't breath at a normal pace. She'd take a shallow breath, stop breathing for a moment, then take another breath.

"Is she injured?"

"I don't know Ren, she doesn't seem to be damaged anywhere!"

"Do you think... When she was in that salamander..?"

Takehiro took a second and the face he made confirmed Ren's fears.

"But how would we know if she were... Poisoned?"

"We have to find out, some way."

"Like how!?" Takehiro's voice cracked.

"We've got to find whoever sent those animals."

"Ren, come on. We barely made it out of that alive, not to mention whatever she did to Emi! We need to find a healer, we need to find some medic or some-"

"To find a medic means to either to risk going to another team or quit the exam!"

"Well it's either that or let her die, and that's not an option, now is it?" Takehiro snapped. Takehiro was hot with anger now, Ren realized. "Come on, let's go. Where's the neares-"

"Kaito!" Ren shouted aloud, "How about we look for Kaito's group?"

Takehiro turned. "Do they have medicine for poison?"

Ren nodded his head affirmatively.

"Ren," Takehiro said slowly, "If something happened to their antidote, it might cost Emi's life. Are you sure you want to go look for it?"

"I-I'm fine." Emi suddenly spoke, attempting to pull herself up. As she struggled, one of her eyes opened, and Ren realized her eyes were still that new red that he wasn't used to. Beads of sweat rolled down her paling face as she struggled to keep herself up on her elbows.

"Emi! Stop it, take it slow!" Takehiro laid her down gently. She moaned in protest, but it was obvious that she had no strength to fight back.

"Takehiro, Ren, we're _not_ giving up on this challenge. This is our chance. We're not going to lose because I inhaled some stupid poison-"

"So you _are_ poisoned? We're leaving, _now_-"

"Takehiro, _look_," Emi sighed, grabbing something from her shuriken pouch and dropping it into her mouth. With an audible gulp, Emi opened her eyes and stared a challenge at Takehiro. "That will stop the poison for a while. Two or three days, I don't know, but until that time passes I am not letting you take me _anywhere_ except towards another group for their scroll or to look for Kaito's group."

Ren observed Takehiro's face as a silent battle took place in his head. It was clear that Takehiro was against it, and Ren couldn't blame him; in fact, if it weren't for... _them_, he'd want to give up on the exam also for Emi. This new red-eyed Emi, however, was hanging on more strongly than their soft, blue-eyed Emi would have. He was silently thankful for this Emi, for it made his job a lot easier.

"..Tsk," he said finally, "Two days, Emi. Two _freaking_ days, otherwise I'm dragging you by force."

Emi stared at him without saying a word. She nodded and got up. Ren stayed silent also. He felt absolutely _terrible_ for this. He should've agreed with Takehiro, like a good teammate. Like a good friend.

"Let's go." Takehiro mumbled angrily. He shunshined off, then Emi. After a bittersweet moment of reminiscence to himself, Ren went also.

. . .

In the distance, a sweet melody could be heard in the forest. It played softly as its speed rose, the notes flowing perfectly and smoothly throughout the whole music arrangement. The player of the music stopped to marvel at the piece he played. "What a nice sound for a pleasant evening."

He looked around him and squeezed his nose. "But what a putrid order..." he mumbled, moving from that area. After all, the piling corpses of both animals and human bodies underneath him didn't smell all that pleasant.

. . .

Hayato rolled to his right side as ice senbon flew at him at amazing speeds. Hikaru moved his hands in a blur, and suddenly Hayato was on the defense, dodging and tucking and rolling to stay alive. He had no time to do any jutsu. He cursed at himself mentally as he thought of all the opportunities he had to learn quick lightning jutsu after Sora had told them their chakra affinities.

Another wave of senbon, and Hayato realized that a tree blocked his right side. Swinging his head back and lifting his feet off the ground, he watched in what seemed like slow motion as the thin icy needles passed over his face, nicking his hair as they flew by. He landed on his hands and performed consecutive backflips until he flipped over a fallen tree trunk and took cover.

Hayato made three handseals and called, "Black Pine Style-" when suddenly Hikaru flashed above him with his hands clenched together in a tight grip. "Not today." Hikaru yelled as he came down. Hayato cursed and pushed off the ground.

Hikaru slammed his clenched hands down and gigantic ice shards erupted from the ground around him. His head rose in an evil glare. Hayato made more seals and slammed his hands on the ground. "Earth Style: Implosive Landslide!"

The ground under Hikaru grew soft, and started to cave in at a rapid pace. Hayato watched as Hikaru reached inside of one his summoned ice shards—yes, inside of it, Hayato witnessed in disbelief—and pulled the rest of his body inside of it, fitting inside perfectly and becoming almost a reflection. He then shot himself out of it like a rocket, spinning in the air like a paper twirler. He let lose a thousand senbon-both ice and metallic-rain down, yelling "Dance of the Senbon: Eternal Frost Shower!"

Hayato made a special hand seal like before. "Black Pine Dome!"

A black crystal dome rose to shield him from the onslaught of senbon. Hayato took this time to look at the battlefield. Something had been bothering him...

Where was the girl?

He looked for the other dome where Kaito and Aoi were. He cursed to see she was using the time Hayato was preoccupied to attack it. If Hayato could concentrate, he knew he could preserve its strength for quite the while. He couldn't concentrate, however; this easy battle had changed into an equal grounded fight to the death.

The pelting of senbon had stopped, and he looked to see Hikaru was coming down to strike. Hayato made another combo of handseals and stored chakra in his stomach, condensing and changing its shape into the black liquid of his clan. He let the dome over him come down. This had to end quickly.

. . .

Kaito held his hands together and was channelling chakra. Kaito was up for letting Hayato fight alone, but that ice kid had turned the tides of the battle. Now, in this already dark dome, their vision on the outside was completely gone since a certain kunoichi was splashing water at them from all directions. It made it harder for Kaito to concentrate with the heavy thud of a water jet driving into this heavy hunk of rock. Kaito looked over at Aoi and saw she had no problem, however.

Her hair was, and this was no exaggeration, floating in the air in long wavy strands, her body emitting a very faint blue hue associated with chakra. She gathered chakra at a far greater rate than Kaito could ever dream of. He wondered where she had learned that. He knew Sora hadn't taught that to them. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he kinda wondered what their sensei was doing...

. . .

Sora made a loud, exasperated sigh as he flopped to the ground. He hadn't realized how fun being with his students had been until he was stuck to hang around his own peers. What was that saying? Something about not appreciating something until it's gone? Meh, whatever it was, that's how he felt now.

A tall burly man with black hair walked over to him. He looked down at Sora and Sora couldn't help but pay attention to the scar placed diagonally over his right eye. The Konoha head-band wrapped around his even muscular neck cast a reflection of the sun to shine in his eyes, causing Sora to look away.

"Sora, fucking take this seriously. You have one job, how complicated can that be?" he sighed irritably.

"Ahh, Isamu-san, must you always be so stiff? Enjoy the sunlight, bask in it's glory and all that." Sora smiled, amusing himself by pissing the jounin off.

What? He had to pass the time some way.

"Uh, Sora, can you not invoke his rage, please? One he starts it's hard to stop him. I'm shocked his students even passed the test. Even my little Shika-chan." Ensui walked up to the two, scratching his head idly.

"Sorry Nara-san." Sora waved.

"Ensui, Shika's the one who saved my blond brat from getting split in half. I hafta' admit; I never saw the use of incapacitation jutsus until it stopped me." Isamu groaned.

"R-really? You? Wow, at such a young age too! She's already a prodigy!"

Sora sigh and crossed his arms behind his head, laying his head down when he felt something smooth and plush instead of the usual soft and prickly feeling that's accustomed with grass. Something lightly stroked his left cheek. Sora's eye twitched as he looked up to see the curly red hair he had annoyingly gotten used to, and somewhat expected.

"Ahh, Sora-chan. You're so cute when you're in my lap." Shirai said as she continued to caress his check with her finger. "I want to stay like this forever."

Sora's eye twitched again, twice this time, before his eyes flashed to Ensui. "Nara-san, how long do you think it'll be until someone opens a scroll? And also, how likely is it that it'll be me? Very likely right? _Right_?"

"Ehh, Sora, I don't think you want the honest answer." Ensui chuckled nervously.

"Oh, Sora," Shirai pulled his head up to squeeze him in what felt like a choke hold, "I hope my kids are smart enough to follow the rules! Kaori and Hibiki are okay, but sometimes Jin worries me..."

"I-I'm sure.. they'll be okay!" Sora struggled to get out, clawing at Shirai's forearms as he tried to gasp for air.

. . .

"Black Pine Style: Pinecone Torrent!" Again Hayato shot the liquid from his mouth, the liquid driving the Mist-nin into the air and keeping him stuck like a bird in a trap. Hayato had made sure to make this liquid extra sticky, changing the texture in his stomach to soft and sticky so he could get caught easily, but not too soft to where he could easily slide out of it. Hikaru struggled mid-air until he froze the liquid and broke out, but Hayato had already launched himself in the air; He spun forward raising his foot high and brought it down with a mighty swing. His axe kick slammed into Hikaru's shoulder, sending him crashing into the ground.

Hayato grabbed shuriken from his pouch and flung them in the dust below. Sure, he didn't have the same accuracy as someone like Aoi, but it was still somewhat on point. He heard the vague _ding_ of deflection, and suddenly Hikaru was behind him. Hayato had no time to turn as he was grabbed from behind, the Kiri-nin thowing his arm around Hayato's neck while making rapid hand signs with his right hand.

'_He can make hand signs with only one hand?'_ Hayato thought incredulously. "A Thousand Flying Water Needles of Death!" Hikaru called, and all around the two, a thousand long water needles appeared from the air. '_Shit,_' Hayato cursed mentally, '_Is he planning on taking me with him?_'

Hayato looked around desperately for an escape route, but the needles surrounded him from every angle in the air. He cursed and apologized to his teammates. He should've been more careful. If only he took the time to learn some ice techniques-

"Haah!" He activated the technique, disappeared from Hayato's back.

"GO LEFT!" he heard a familiar voice scream. He flung himself the suggested way. He looked towards his destined direction, and closed one eye in preparation to become a pin cushion.

However, for some strange reason, the voice made him keep one eye open.

Something blue shot from somewhere on the ground and hit one needle. As the blue object lost its hue, he realized that it was a chakra embed senbon. That needle crashed into another needle, which crashed into two others, causing a chain reaction that left the whole left side in dissary, allowing Hayato to sail to the ground without worry of being a human cactus.

"Gah!" he cried aloud, feeling four sharp pains across his right arm and two along his back. He turned his body, flinging himself into a slide that skidded his left arm and leg. It hurt, but it was needed so that the needles wouldn't dig in any deeper into his body. He stumbled to rise on his right leg, opening his left eye to see where Hikaru was standing, his gaze that of an enraged and crazed woodsman. But his gaze wasn't towards Hayato; it was towards someone behind him.

Hayato turned behind him and saw Aoi standing tall and mighty, three senbon she probably picked up from the ground gripped tightly in her balled up fist. "_Now_ do you need help?"

. . .

Kaito admired Aoi with a newfound respect. Whereas he only thought that the same amount of pressure of water was getting shot at their dome from all over, she deciphered which side was getting the most pressure and waited a split second before it broke to tell Kaito the blast it with his own water.

"Now!" Aoi said. "Wild Water Waves!" he launched the technique at the shuriken she dug in the spot she placed it. The dome broke, and Kaito poured more chakra in the technique to overpower the opposing water technique. Aoi shot an arrow from her chakra bow through the water and struck something. The opposing water force stopped and so Kaito cancelled his technique. "Kaito, stay here and protect that kid. She's aiming for him, so she'll be back. You shouldn't stay in here. In fact, you should really get out of here in case she wants to drown this place."

"Gotcha," Kaito had said, throwing the unconscious boy over his shoulder and jumping out of the after Aoi. "GO LEFT" Aoi had called, and as she went to go intercept an attack on Hayato, Kaito jumped to evade a water blast.

A blue-haired girl sat on top of an orb of water, a long black stick in her hand. As Kaito looked closely, it seemed like it was an umbrella handle. Kaito looked around and saw other orbs in the air, each holding pieces the top pieces of her umbrella. She smiled innocently before the other orbs shot high pressured water beams his way. Kaito swung Yoshi's—that was his name, right?—body and used it as a shield, the unconscious boy taking the blunt force as they were launched towards a stream of water. He grabbed Yoshi's body in his arms and flipped so his feet would land on the water.

Last minute, Kaito added chakra to his feet to walk on the water. It wasn't a perfectly balanced amount, so instead of slamming and splashing on the surface, he kinda skated on it. "Wooahh" he called out, before balancing the chakra. '_That was pretty cool!_' he said to himself.

He held Yoshi's body in his arms like a bride, and jumped to avoid more shots of water as the orbs flowed closer to him. As he continued jumping around like a grasshopper avoiding feet, he noticed that the orbs began to shrink in size the more water they exerted. He kept avoiding the blasts, the water feeling remarkably great against his muddy skin. It kind of felt like it was getting easier to move on the water.

As the battle raged on, soon even Suiren, still floating on her little orb, noticed that the orb's power was getting weaker, slower, and more sloppy at a rapid rate. She spun her black stick and the orbs circled above him on all sides. "Final shot!" She yelled, and the orbs shot the remaining water they had left before they plummeted to the ground. Kaito let himself fall into the water, avoiding the beams as they slammed into the spot where Kaito would have surely gotten squashed.

Descending into the water with Yoshi in his arms, he felt even more relaxed, as if he had been underwater like this before. Something moved underwater, and he almost gasped as he saw another orb underwater. It finally dawned upon him that what the girl had been holding was the handle, shaft, and runner of the umbrella, while the black sticks in the water orbs were each stretchers wrapped in the parts of the umbrella's canopy. The stretcher pointed towards him, and something strange happened; Kaito swung his left arm across his face to protect him, and suddenly his arm warmer grew warm, and the whole stream moved towards the right, the orb getting flung out of the water. At the sudden move of the ocean, he unknowingly raised the same arm up, and the stream seemed to jump into the sky.

. . .

Aoi stared at Hikaru, still awaiting an answer from Hayato. From the corner of her eye, she still saw Hayato sitting on the ground, clutching his arm with a pained expression on his sweating face. After a long moment, he nodded. She nodded back at him, letting her chakra flow into the senbon. She always thought of covering something in chakra like being in a shower and letting water drip from her hands to her towel. It became simple and easier to her the more she did it.

Hikaru continued to glare at her, anger evident and prominent in his features. "Hayato," Aoi called, "I'm gonna need some defense for a bit."

He looked up at her and nodded. He stood up straight and turned towards Hikaru, but not without a pained expression on his face. Aoi had never known Hayato for making faces other than annoyed ones, and she couldn't help but feel mad. She wasn't mad because Hayato had basically trapped Kaito and her in a dome to just watch as a battle, 2 on 1, took place, nor was she mad that it would have been his fault if they drowned in that air-tight dome or anything along those lines. She was mad because these guys, Hikaru, Yoshio, and Suiren had caused them trouble, and that anger she now possessed was more than enough to rival Hikaru's.

Aoi channeled chakra throughout her body and created her bow just as Hikaru charged, senbon gripped in both of his hands as tightly as she had hers gripped in her left hand. Hayato grabbed held a kunai in each of his hands and charged at him. They clashed, and though Hikaru was much faster than Hayato, who moved sluggishly due to his injuries, Hayato's skill at hand-to-hand combat kept the battle somewhat equal. Aoi rose her bow, holding the three senbon between her fingers. She let the chakra extend from the tips as she pulled her drawstring back. She wasn't aware as a light blue hue grew around her, and chakra swirled around her feet at a quick rate.

Hikaru, however, _had_ noticed.

He clashed with Hayato one last time before pushing himself off of the raven-haired genin, jumping into the air and launching all ten of the senbon in his hands towards Aoi. Aoi simply stared as she prepared to fire the technique. She didn't care if she got hit, she had one job to take care of. Suddenly Hayato was there, his hands weaving through handseals. Then he stood in front of her and threw his arms out. Audible shinks could be heard from his back as he grit his teeth, yelling "SHOOT!" with all the power in his lungs. He fell to the side, and Aoi's rage grew tenfold.

"Chakra Bow: Senbon Archway!" She released the grip her left hand held, and the senbon, now three arrows due to the chakra stretched around them, flew at Hikaru in a flash. He was in the air with nowhere to run, and he threw his arms across his face as they curved, each slamming dead into his torso area. His mouth flew open, and the arrows, now intertwined into one, blasted him towards the stream.

That's when something strange happened.

The stream _moved_ almost away from the attack, and Aoi looked around in confusion. She looked behind her towards the left, and suddenly the stream rose, a small figure moving in the water. In an almost domino-like effect, the stream continued to rise, until it curved and reached Hikaru. The technique was slamming Hikaru into the water, but the water's weight shifted the direction and the arrow tore away from Hikaru. He screamed, and it rung throughout the forest horrifically. Blood flew in the air along with his body, a gaping hole along the side of his body gruesome and disgusting. He flew into the water as it came back down, splashing with a loud _slap_.

Aoi felt a wave of nausea creep up her throat when suddenly her attention went elsewhere.

'_Hayato!_'


	17. The First Night in No 44

**Arc Two, Chapter Seven: The First Night in No. 44**

Aoi knelt down to a panting Hayato as the water from the stream crashed back to the ground, spraying them in a rain-like wave. She turned Hayato's body to look at his injuries. Senbon protruded out of multiple spots on his back. Aoi bit her lip. She had to take off his shirt to examine the injuries. As lightly as she could, she rose the shirt from his back. She noticed that there was no stickiness to the black piece of cloth, which meant that there might be no blood.

"Hayato, you still with me?" She kept her voice from shaking with surprising ease, beginning to roll his shirt over his head. "Mmm" a slight moan came from the raven-haired genin. She let a low sigh of relief escape her lips. This at least meant he was still alive. She pulled the shirt over his head and stopped.

She was right that there was no blood, but his whole back was.. black? No, that wasn't it, she realized; his whole back was covered by the same technique he used to construct the dome he placed Kaito and Aoi in. "Oh, thank god" Aoi flopped to the ground, wiping sweat from her face. As she stared at his back with slight curiosity, she turned her head to look for Kaito. She saw the snow-haired ninja clawing his way out of the stream that had recently took flight, and noticed something peculiar; his right arm warmer was glowing with a faint blue aura. She rose an eyebrow, but soon the hue was gone. It must have been her imagination...

"I-I'm okay," He wobbled over to his teammates, not able to hide the exhaustion from his voice. He dragged a boy—Yoshio, she remembered—by his collar behind him, and threw him to Aoi's side when he reached his teammates. Kaito sighed and flopped on his belly, laying his head on the ground with a soft _thud_.

"What happened to the girl?" Aoi's eyes scouted the area like a hawk in search of a mouse. "Uh, I dunno," Kaito mumbled, the words coming out a bit more sloppily than the genin thought. Aoi watched as his eyelids lowered slowly like the night was approaching more rapidly, "She kinda disappeared after the, uh, river rose." Kaito yawned.

"Yeah, what happened with to the river anyway?" Aoi began, "It just jumped—" She glanced back to her teammate to see his head rested on the ground, and his eyes fully closed, a soft snore rising from his partially opened mouth. She turned her head towards Hayato and saw that the black substance covering his back was beginning to chip away. "You okay, Hayato?" Aoi called quietly to the silent genin. After a brief moment of silence, he rose his head and nodded, calming his breath.

'_Alright, good,_' Aoi thought to herself, '_Thankfully, we made it in one piece..._' Aoi's eyes slid over to Yoshio's unconscious body.

'_And with a battle prize to tell the tale._'

. . .

Night's approach had come more swiftly than Team 12 had thought, and Hibiki had to find three other places before his Byakugan spotted no signs of trouble. Without extreme focused use of his Byakugan, his range of sight was about 496 meters in diameter, and even during this exam he was striving to reach those last 4 meters for 500. Jin and Kaori had come back from another session of scouting around his second relocation, and now Kaori was scouting for some food.

Hibiki had found his team a deserted cave full of cobwebs and a peculiar odor on the sides of the caves. The air inside was much more dry and humid than outside, and the further you ventured inside the cave the more the light ventured away from you. "Uhhh, it stinks in here," Jin moaned, squeezing his nose tightly and looking around the cave as if it were a dumpster full of only the vilest and nastiest of feces. "Ne, Hibiki-san, next time can you try and find a cave that doesn't smell like rotten meat? No, wait, dead fish mixed with piss. No wait, I can't even properly describe it! The damned scent seems to keep changing!"

"Haha, sorry Jin. It'll help if you stay away from walls." He offered empathetically, "This was the nearest place away from other teams, and also has no living creatures in it. Any that'd be harmful, at least."

"Harmful in what way?" He said tightly, "It's certainly not my way. Who knows what insects and creatures are hiding in this cave." He shivered.

"Oh?" Hibiki turned towards his friend, "You're not afraid of bugs are you?" He asked inquisitively, a smile tugging at the corner of his lips. Jin turned around with a mixed look of disbelief and anger across his face. "H-How dare you say that! Unlike you, I can't see in this god forsaken cave! What if there's some poisonous bug in here? You wouldn't know what they'd look like, ne?" He questioned the Hyuga in a challenging way.

Hibiki simply rose his hands up in a play of defeat, though he knew that there was a possibility that Jin couldn't see him with the engrossing darkness. "I unfortunately cannot tell the difference between a regular bug and a poisonous one. Isn't that why you're here?"

Jin folded his arms across his chest, the corner of his lip curling into a sly grin. "You know it! Yours truly, Jin the Poison Expert, is here to protect you not only from the common cold, but from the most dangerous of venom and poison!" He thrusted a thumb towards himself, suddenly back in good spirits at the mention of one of his talents.

This made Hibiki smile. He thought about how people said, before Hibiki knew Jin well, that Jin and his habit of speaking what was on the top of his head could get even the priests of Sunagakure to curse him out in a flurry of rage, but Hibiki didn't see it. He never really said or did anything with bad intentions, in the Hyuga's eyes. Hibiki didn't think that Jin was challenging his intellect when he asked about his knowledge on poison, but just a question asked in the wrong tone.

"I can only see so much in this cave, though..." Jin mumbled to himself.

"And that's why you have me, right?" He smiled. Jin turned around and grinned back at the statement, thinking that turning around would hide from his grin from the Hyuga's sight. "Yeah yeah, man," Jin sighed, "Whatever."

"You still have the fire wood, right?" Hibiki bent over, throwing rocks out of the way for where he wanted the fire to be made. He made careful to make sure the rocks didn't land on the pile of leaves that Hibiki wove together by kunai and wire to form a sheet of sorts in case Jin and Kaori wanted to sleep closer to the cave's entrance than he had liked. The light from the fire would be seen easier if they were closer, so, instead of the five sheets he had prepared, he made 6 more sheets (with the help of Kaori before she left to look for food with Goremaru) to have a total of 11. He planned to spread the sheets out instead of stacking them in front of each other, thinking that this might be more effective.

"Yeah, it's riiight here," He brought over the last pile of wood, setting them near Hibiki's feet, "Ne, when should I start the fire?" He said a little too eagerly, ready to flaunt his skills off again. I guess you could say people weren't necessarily _wrong_ when they said Jin had quite the ego on him...

"In a bit. I think we might wait until Kaori comes back." he pulled a large rock over and swiped his hand over the top, sending tiny insects flying off as he took a seat. "Aren't you going to sit down?"

Jin looked around the inside of the cave uneasily before shaking his head no. "I'll pass..." Jin scrunched his nose in disgust, a faint breeze blowing another whiff of the cave's insides up his nostrils.

Hibiki smiled. '_Guess this is the camping Jin wanted for so long..._'

. . .

All the harmoniously rich chirping of the birds ceased as the rubbing of the cricket's wings rung out like a church bell from everywhere in the forest, the soft breeze of the night stirring the leaves of the tree where Takehiro sat perched upon its mighty branch. He stared at the moon as its light bathed the forest, the sight being an almost hypnotic trance the longer he stared. Peering closely, he realized it wasn't a full moon. In two to three days, perhaps, it would be. This made him think about what he would be doing in two days.

'_In two days..._' Takehiro thought, '_We'll be in here for a whole 3 days... Then we'll have two more to go._' Takehiro unconsciously took a kunai out and began twirling it, spinning it expertly between his fingers before flinging it up in the air, catching it with his other hand, and repeating the cycle.

The wistful thoughts, however, became bitter ones as he thought about Emi, and how his teammate's condition could worsen. Why was she so stubborn? Why couldn't she just give up the challenge? Doesn't she realize that her life is more important than a stupid test? And what's with the sudden change in character and eye color anyway?

But that wasn't all. She wasn't the only one who was acting out of character.

Ren was also acting strangely also.

Ever during that first battle with that red head, he was strange. He wasn't the same cool-headed guy during battle like he was before. Usually the battle goes as this: Takehiro provides weapons to whomever may need them, Emi then assigns roles and strategy to Ren and Takehiro, and then said ninjas would carry them out. During battles he's usually cool and calm, which Takehiro thought went along smoothly with his wind chakra nature.

But no, this battle was different.

After a while, Ren got mad. And after he got mad, he was more reckless in a way. His wind moves weren't as precise before, which was understandable. He was injured, and Takehiro knew that the injury could have changed the way Ren reacted to the battle. But why... Why didn't Ren object to taking Emi back before she regained consciousness? Takehiro knew that he shouldn't be the only one who was more concerned with his teammate than this Exam, so why did Ren object?

Something was fishy, Takehiro realized, something that's causing Ren to act differently. Was this really Ren? Or did that guy (Takehiro was never one for remembering names, or remembering anything for that matter) switch with Ren somewhere in-between the fight?

Or maybe this was all in his head.

Maybe he was just mad at Emi for being stubborn, and changing so differently, in a bipolar-like fashion. Either way, he needed to stop thinking about it. The most important thing was that they needed to find whomever's team (again, can't remember names that well) and get the antidote, and who's to say that the antidote would even work for this type of poison?

"Gah!" He spoke aloud, the kunai slipping from his fingers and disappearing into the branches and shadows below. "Aww man..." He sighed as it fell, raising his head to stare back at the moon whose gaze shone ever so brightly.

'_Yeah,_' Takehiro decided, '_It's all probably in my head. I'll probably forget all about it tomorrow._' He tried to convince himself.

But something at the back of his mind just kept picking at it...

"Takehiro!" Ren appeared by the brunette, his green hair resembling a similar shade to the leaves behind him, "It's my shift first. You know that, right? Shouldn't you go get some sleep?"

Takehiro opened his mouth to say something, but stopped and closed it, deciding against it. "Alright, man," He said, "Aren't we sleeping on branches, though?"

"I think it's safer than on the ground. We're pretty high up, and I carved in the branches up higher where we're gonna sleep. You'll see it when you reach it." He bobbed his head up, presumably where their tree branch makeshift beds were made. It was pretty hard to believe that the trees here we so huge, this one not being the tallest but not even at the top of the tree you got a perfect view of the night sky. Takehiro nodded and stood up.

"Oh, and here." Ren held out his hand, a familiar kunai catching the moon's eye, "I grabbed this while coming back up. Thought this was yours."

Takehiro smiled. "Thanks, Ren. Come and get me when it's my shift."

There was an awkward silence as he saw Ren prepare for Takehiro to crack a joke, but no joke came. Takehiro just had too much on his mind to tell one of his night-time jokes.

"Uh, sure thing." Ren nodded.

And with that, Takehiro shunshined away, bringing his doubts and worries along with him.

. . .

Kaori had returned to the cave later than expected. In fact, she had gotten so lost that she required the aid of her dark gray pup to show her the way to come back. "Thanks Gore-san" she pet the dog as it was making its slow stride to the cave. He licked her hand as if to say "No problem!"

She peered into the cave and saw a wall of darkness darker than the surrounding shadows. "Uh, is this the right cave..?" Kaori wondered aloud.

Suddenly a green-haired head poked out. "Ne, what took you so long?" Jin glared, a tick mark appearing on his forehead. Kaori held up a large bag of berries and three canteens full of water. "Does it matter when I have everything we need?" She smiled mischievously.

Jin sweatdropped and placed his head back in the void of black. Kaori and Goremaru followed, and got a face full of leaves and dirt. "Uck, what is this?"

"We placed some leaf sheets. You can squeeze through them by the side." Kaori heard Hibiki's voice from the back of the cave. She guessed that Jin had used his amulet to cast a genjutsu on the front entrance, disguising the front to make it seem like a bottomless pit of darkness. Meanwhile, in the inside, a faint yellowish glow could be seen, even from the front of the sheets they had placed. As Kaori slid across the walls—Oh _Kami_ how the walls stunk, and it was even worse for an Inuzuka clan member—and saw they spaced out the sheets, the glow growing brighter each sheet she passed.

She finally reached her teammates to see Hibiki perched on a big rock and Jin standing with his arms crossed, pacing back and forth while glancing around nervously. Goremaru pranced around before going to nestle against Hibiki's leg. He glanced up from the fire and reached down to pet the dog.

"Hi Kaori. Hi Goremaru" the Hyuga smiled warmly.

"Hey Hibiki-chan. Who started the fire?" Kaori looked at the ground before gently sitting down, crossing her legs and placing an elbow on her thigh. She rested her head on her hand as Hibiki pointed towards Jin with his free hand. "Uh," Kaori rose an eyebrow, giving a worried expression, "What's up with him?"

"Oh, I think he doesn't like insects or something." Hibiki said, though it didn't really sound like he was paying attention, picking up Goremaru with both hands and making playful faces at the happily panting dog. Kaori was shocked at what an animal person Hibiki was. He wasn't just good with her dog; he was good with birds, wild deer, heck, the guy just seemed in-tune with nature!

"W-who said that? Certainly not I, the handsome-W-WOAH, WHAT WAS THAT?" Jin backed away, thrusting a shaking finger towards something that had already crawled back into the shadows.

"How can you be a ninja yet afraid of bugs?" Kaori deadpanned.

"S-shut up, Kaori! I'm not afraid of anything, you mutt-loving witch!" Jin glared daggers at her. "Eh?! Don't insult my dog, you animal-hating poison freak!" Kaori retorted in anger.

"I'm not an animal hater, you bloodhound owning bastard!" Jin shouted, leaning in and pointing a finger in Kaori's face.

"That's not even his breed you jewelry wielding jackass! Guess who isn't eating tonight, because _I_ have the food!" Kaori held up the bag of berries intimidatingly, her eyes glaring a burning challenge in them.

"Fuck your damned berries, they probably taste like shit anyway!" Jin glared back just as intensely, and lightning began clashing between the two.

"Uh, can't we all get along, guys?" Hibiki sweatdropped, raising the small pup up in hopes that he'd get the two to calm down, "I think we're all just a little tense and could use some sleep."

"Tsk!" Jin walked back to the fire, mumbling curses and insults under his breath. His scowl look even more intensified in the glow of the fire, his brown skin and green hair seeming more defined. Kaori glanced at Hibiki and saw that his skin gleamed brightly also, and that he was developing a slight tan which contrasted greatly with his once nearly pale, white skin he had in the academy. From the little Hyuuga clan members she saw, they all seemed near the paler side. Kaori guessed that all the missions they had to do outdoors pushed Hibiki towards the tan side.

Kaori sighed to herself. She wondered if she had changed a bit since she graduated the academy. Here in front of her she had what all her female classmates stated as "Eye candy for days" while all the boys were daydreaming about girls like Aoi. Kaori wondered how she looked compared to them and if she were considered cute or not...

She sighed again and ran a hand through her ponytail. "Well, we've still got this food." She offered to Hibiki.

"Hm? Sure!" he let the dog down and walked over to grab a handful of berries. "Mmm, these are good! ..hey, is there something on my face or something?"

Kaori blushed, realizing she had been staring. "Nothing!" Kaori said as she began to pet Goremaru in her lap. She sighed once more to herself. '_At first I thought being a ninja meant I would have a ninja boyfriend... I can't be preoccupied now, though! Now is my chance to shine and become a chunin! And I won't let some petty "romance" get in the way!_'

. . .

Kaito woke up with a start, narrowly missing Hayato's head as his arms flailed out. "Wh-what? What's going on?" Kaito looked around, and saw Aoi on the ground, using her hands as a substitute for a pillow and lightly dozing off. They were under something huge and dark, light peeping in through cracks and holes, and some large slits that were along the corners of the area. He looked at Hayato and could see his weariness even in the dark.

Kaito yawned, stretching his body out like a cat, and glanced back to the raven-haired genin. "Where are we?"

After a moment of silence, Hayato finally replied "Under a tree."

Kaito blinked at this, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. "Mmm. Where's that Yoshi guy?"

Hayato's arm pointed somewhere leftwards, but the corner he pointed at seemed even darker than the rest, so Kaito just nodded and acted like he could see him. "Ah... ok. Why'd you wake me up?" Kaito kept glancing at the cracks and saw the stream of water, and was more than tempted to go outside and swim, if not try and do whatever he did on top of it. That ski thing was pretty cool!

There was another moment of silence before Hayato responded again, saying only "Watch duty" before going back to sleep.

"Oh, okay..." Kaito said, a small hint of dejection in his tone. Hayato seemed like he didn't want to talk. And sure, a week or two before Kaito wouldn't have a second thought about the guy not talking. Hayato usually never talked! It wasn't ever the case of him being shy either, it was just him _not_ talking!

But lately, he had begun saying more things, and it was honestly a bit shocking. Regardless though, even if they weren't complete sentences, the bits and phrases he would say would make Kaito (probably even Aoi and Sora) smile a bit, because he was engaging in conversation. He didn't want Hayato to go back to being all quiet. He had come too far for that!

Before Kaito could say something to him about it, Hayato had already gone asleep. Kaito blinked again before sitting up straight and staring into the distance. Hearing the nice and gentle flow of the stream was soothing, and he yearned to go outside and test some water skills. But no; one of the few things his.. father had instilled in him was his knowledge as a Shinobi! It was a brief time but...

_Splash!_

Kaito's eyes shot back open, shooting from left to right. Another splash, and he saw a fish jump into the air, wiggle a bit, then splash back into the ocean.

"Mmm..." Kaito mumbled, "Stupid fish. Hmph, I need to wake up!" Kaito smacked his face a couple of times, the stings making him more aware of his surroundings. That could've easily been an enemy, like that Suiren girl or the Hikaru guy. Those guys must have done this exam a couple of times... The fight with them, though dangerous and scary at the time, was electrifying to say the least!

The thought of the battle made Kaito glance at his arm warmers. That thing with the stream of water was weird. Could it have been caused by these things on his arm? There was a warm sensation on them, he remembered. Staring at the metal-plated cloth, he imagined the weaving of the metal was like a stream, and that the tiny little emblem-like dragonhead in the center of each warmer were the ones his mother would tell him in nighttime stories she would tell during his childhood. He could have sworn that what happened to the stream was the arm warmer's work.

'_It couldn't have been me..._' Kaito thought, '_Could it?_'

He shook his head. Maybe it was just his imagination!

Staring at the stream's reflection and at the night sky, Kaito sighed to himself a bit.

"How much longer until we can see each other," Kaito whispered under his breath, "Mom... Dad..."


End file.
